Tag: Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)

Posted in Access to healthcare, Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), American Presidents, Defined Contribution Benefit Plans, Economic Issues, Employee Benefits, Employer Mandate, Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, Government Regulations, Health Insurance, Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Healthcare financing, Individual Market, Individual ObamaCare Market, Individual Underwriting Standards, Medical Costs, News From Washington, Patient Choice, Policy Issues, Portable Insurance, Pre-existing Conditions, The Triple Aim, Uncategorized

Donald Trump Takes A Big Step Toward Personal And Portable Health Insurance

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

READ THIS ARTICLE below if you want to understand the degree to which this ruling is an important step for healthcare reform.

But as John C. Goodman points out, administrative ruling can only go so far without being codified by legislative action.

Some believe the Individual Market is too weak to revive, given the hit it took as as result of the ACA.

I am optimistic that this ruling to utilize HRA is this manner will be a “shot in the arm” and revitalize the market again.

This hopefully highlights the benefits, and spurs popularity, of a defined contribution approach as a means to purchase health insurance.

Anything that makes us less dependent on ESI and gives more portability & options, freeing the labor market from job-lock is a good thing. -Forum for Healthcare Freedom

John C. Goodman

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2019/06/18/donald-trump-takes-a-big-step-toward-personal-and-portable-health-insurance/

Posted in Access to healthcare, Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), American Presidents, Defined Contribution Benefit Plans, Economic Issues, Employee Benefits, Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, Government Regulations, Health Insurance, Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Healthcare financing, Individual Market, Large group insurance market, Medical Costs, medical inflation, News From Washington, DC & Related Shenanigans, out-of-pocket costs, Policy Issues, Portable Insurance, Price Tansparency, Uncategorized

Trump could revolutionize the private health insurance market

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

Some believe the Individual Market is too weak to revive, given the hit it took as as result of the ACA.

I am optimistic that this ruling to utilize HRA is this manner will be a “shot in the arm” and revitalize the market again.

This article below highlights the benefits of a defined contribution approach as a means to purchase health insurance. Anything that makes us less dependent on ESI and gives more portability & options, freeing the labor market from job-lock is a good thing. – Forum for Healthcare Freedom

Avek Roy

“Last week, the White House finalized a rule that allows employers to fund health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) that can be used by workers to buy their own coverage on the individual market. This subtle, technical tweak has the potential to revolutionize the private health insurance market…

…The council found an elegant way to give employers the opportunity to voluntarily convert their health benefits from a defined benefit into a defined contribution. For example, an employer could fund an HRA for each worker and their family, which they could then use to shop for a plan that best suits their needs.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-could-revolutionize-the-private-health-insurance-market/2019/06/17/bc8ccce4-9124-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html

Posted in Access to healthcare, Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), American Presidents, Consumer-Driven Health Care, Defined Contribution Benefit Plans, Economic Issues, Employee Benefits, Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, Government Regulations, Health Insurance, Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Healthcare financing, Individual Market, Individual ObamaCare Market, Medical Costs, Patient Choice, Policy Issues, Portable Insurance, Tax Policy, Uncategorized, Uninsured

Trump’s new rule will give businesses and workers better health care options – CNN

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

A HUGE WIN FOR THE LABOR MARKET AND A STEP TOWARDS ENDING JOB-LOCK!

This is one of the most positive and substantive changes in healthcare policy to come out of Washington, D.C. in the past 40 years.  It finally pierces the veil of separation between the Group Market & the Individual Market, helping to dissolve the perverse tax incentive which ties health insurance to employment. ~ Forum for Healthcare Freedom

“Starting on January 1, 2020, employers will be able to offer their workers HRAs to buy individual market coverage for themselves and their families. The administration’s new rule addresses a major inequity by, in effect, providing the same tax advantage that traditional employer-sponsored group plans receive — exclusion of premiums from federal income or payroll taxes — to coverage that workers in the individual market purchase from an HRA.

The rule will significantly expand worker options since 80% of firms that provide insurance currently offer only one type of plan. Now, workers will be able to use tax-advantaged money from their employers to buy coverage of their choosing. This new flexibility will allow people to maintain their coverage when they switch jobs.

In particular, this new rule should help small business workers by making it possible for employers to fund coverage with less hassle and cost than maintaining a traditional group health plan. Between 2010 and 2018, the proportion of workers at firms with three to 49 workers covered by an employer plan fell by more than 25%. This rule should help reverse that decline. The rule also makes it easier for small businesses to compete with larger businesses for talent.

It will take roughly five years for the full impact of the rule to hit — at which point, we expect 11 million workers and family members to use HRA funds to obtain individual coverage. The HRA rule may increase the size of the individual market by upwards of 50%, and should spur a more competitive market that drives insurers to deliver better options to consumers.”

Source: Trump’s new rule will give businesses and workers better health care options – CNN

Posted in Access to healthcare, Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), Direct-Pay Practice Models, Employee Benefits, Employer Mandate, Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, Essential Benefits under the ACA, Health Insurance, Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA's), Healthcare financing, Individual Mandate, Policy Issues, Tax Policy, Uncategorized

Healthcare: What to Watch For

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

“…it is important for employers to be fully aware of what the regulations may impact them to safeguard against inadvertently putting themselves, or their employees, in an untenable situation.

It is important for an employer looking to offer an unconventional or untraditional benefit package to speak with an independent health plan attorney or CPA (not employed by the agency selling the program) regarding potential liability and compliance with federal and state laws regarding employer sponsored health plans.

Can your employee afford to reimburse the IRS for taxes not collected on an inappropriately structured HSA? Can your business afford a fine of $100 per day per employee for every day that the unqualified arrangement was offered? These are just some of the potential liabilities.”

http://ushealthmedia.com/healthcare-what-to-watch-for/