<blog-icon-title>Introduction<blog-icon-title>
Welcome back to our compliance miniseries!
Documenting and communicating an employer-sponsored plan like ICHRA is key to both the compliance and overall success of the model. Together over the next 3 posts, we’ll dive deep into the requirements for how to document and communicate ICHRA to your employees and regulators.
<blog-icon-title>The 90 Day Notice<blog-icon-title>
The 90 Day Notice is a requirement of all three regulatory bodies that govern ICHRA. It is meant to give employees enough time to understand the concept of ICHRA and allowances, explore the plans available to them, determine whether the ICHRA offer is affordable, and learn about the logistics involved in the plan.
In this post, we’ll share a list of what needs to be included in the Notice. Naturally, we’re here every step of the way to help you phrase, tweak, and fine-tune the content and messaging to not only help employees understand but to get them to buy-in and engage.
<blog-icon-title>The basics<blog-icon-title>
- Description - an overview of the ICHRA plan, including key details such as:
- Allowance amounts (according to all possible classes, family units, or locations)
- Start date of the plan
- What coverage qualifies for ICHRA (individual policy or Medicare) or is not allowed (short-term, limited-duration, standalone dental/vision plans)
- Potential use of excess allowance funds (if an employee chooses a plan that is cheaper than their allowance) for medical expenses or not
- Clarification on the type of HRA offer (ICHRA vs. QSEHRA or EBHRA)
<blog-icon-title>Deciding on the offer<blog-icon-title>
- Affordability and how to find assistance for determining an offer’s affordability (explaining the concept and sharing more resources on the calculation)
- Right to opt out of and waive future reimbursements
- How the ICHRA will affect Premium Tax Credit (PTC) availability
- Requirement to inform any Exchange where employee applies for PTCs of information about the ICHRA (so that the exchange can validate that it was indeed unaffordable if the employee applies for PTCs)
<blog-icon-title>Process<blog-icon-title>
- Availability of a special enrollment period for employees and dependents who newly gain access to the ICHRA (so that they can enroll mid-year if they become newly eligible)
- How an employee can obtain individual health insurance (the shopping process)
- Payment, reimbursement, and substantiation process including frequency (how an employee pays, submits proof of enrollment, and receives reimbursements)
<blog-icon-title>Other information to include<blog-icon-title>
- Explanation that ICHRA can be integrated with Medicare (Medicare Parts A+B, Part C or supplement policies are considered eligible coverage)
- Information (including phone number) of a contact person whom participants can reach out to with questions
<blog-icon-title>Conclusion<blog-icon-title>
We know this is a lot to digest – let alone phrase coherently in a notice that goes out to all of your employees. ICHRA can seem daunting and you want your awesome new health plan to wow your team – not overwhelm them.
At Zorro, we’re experts not just in the compliance details but also in employee engagement and communication. We’ve created dynamic, modular templates and easy-to-understand explainers that check all of the regulatory checkboxes while bringing value to your employees and making them excited about ICHRA.
