The departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury yesterday finalized a rule that beginning in January will allow employers to use health reimbursement arrangements to pay a portion of the premiums for individual market coverage for employees and their allowable dependents if the coverage complies with all individual market rules. The final rule includes the proposed safeguards to prevent employers from moving only their sicker, most-costly employees into the individual market, such as requiring them to offer all individuals within a certain class of employees the same coverage options, among other protections. The departments also finalized the proposal to permit employers that offer an HRA as supplementary coverage to allow employees to use the HRA to pay the premiums for a short-term limited duration health plan. The departments estimate that 11.4 million individuals will eventually receive individual market coverage with an HRA under the rule, and that the number of uninsured will decrease by 800,000. They issued the rule in response to a 2017 Executive Order on “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States.” AHA supported finalizing the rule so long as the departments also finalized the safeguard policies.

Related News Articles

Chairperson's File
Public
The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act will bring big changes to health care. AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack joined me for a Leadership Dialogue…
Chairperson's File
Public
This month Congress enacted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a sweeping package that contained many of President Trump’s legislative priorities on taxes,…
Headline
The AHA July 2 expressed support for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (H.R. 3890), bipartisan legislation that would add 14,000 Medicare-funded…
Headline
The House July 3 voted 218-214 to pass the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which enacts many of President Trump’s legislative…
Headline
The Senate narrowly passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) on July 1 by a 50-50 tally, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.…
Headline
The AHA June 29 sent a letter to senators urging them to amend the budget reconciliation bill before its final passage in the Senate. The Senate version of the…