Non-grandfathered health plans (i.e., health plans issued on or after March 23, 2010) are required to cover innetwork preventive services at 100% with no cost-sharing to a member. This is a requirement that was imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The preventive services that must be covered are specified by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Premium Reimbursement Arrangements (PRAs) can generally be described as tax-free programs which are offered by employers to reimburse employees for health insurance coverage they obtain on their own. Below is a summary of the most common PRAs.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently proposed rules that would expand the definition of medical expenses allowed under Section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). This part of the Code is what helps guide the types expenses that can be reimbursed through a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA).

It’s no surprise that more and more employers are offering qualified high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to their employees, and some employers are combining Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to alleviate a portion of the deductible and/or out-of-pocket expenses that employees are exposed to. However, you have to be very careful with the HRA plan design in order to preserve HSA eligibility for employees.