Employee benefits are an essential aspect of doing business. Not only do they allow your company to remain competitive when it comes to attracting and retaining employees, but it’s something that many companies must offer employees to stay compliant with federal and local regulations.

With health-care costs rising every day, though, it’s becoming an increasingly larger financial burden on businesses that are already facing significant economic pressures.

Luckily, there are many alternatives today that companies can offer other than a traditional employer-sponsored group benefits plan. One of those is called an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA), which can provide both employees and employers the flexibility and coverage they’re looking for.

Below, we provide more details about ICHRA insurance plans in Georgia.

Does Georgia Require Businesses to Offer Health Insurance?

In Georgia, businesses are not required to offer their employees health insurance coverage. That being said, the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) does stipulate that certain businesses must do so.

Any company that has at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees must offer a health insurance plan to their employees. All others are not required to do so.

While this means that many small businesses in Georgia aren’t obligated to offer health insurance to their employees, it’s generally not a great idea to forgo this offering, as it can significantly hamper your recruitment and retention efforts.

What Are ICHRA Plans?

ICHRA plans are an alternative to traditional employer-sponsored health insurance plans that provide many advantages to both employees and employers.

Essentially, they allow companies to offer their employees tax-free money to pay for premiums and some out-of-pocket expenses related to health insurance plans they secure on their own.

ICHRAs offer employees a lot of flexibility and choice in terms of the type of insurance plan they choose and how they use the money, while also helping companies reduce their health insurance-related expenses. Not only that, but these plans are fully compliant with the ACA, so employers need not worry about being in compliance.

Companies of all sizes are eligible to offer their employees an ICHRA plan, regardless of whether they’re obligated to offer health insurance under the ACA.

How Do ICHRA Plans Work?

Unlike traditional employer-sponsored health insurance plans, companies can categorize their employees into different “classes” and then tailor the ICHRA benefits to each individual class.

For example, employers may put full-time employees in one class and part-time/seasonal employees in a separate class. Then, they can offer a different ICHRA reimbursement amount to each class and still remain compliant with all federal and local regulations.

Employees can then use the pre-tax money they’re given to secure health insurance coverage on their own. They can do this through the healthcare marketplace or any other avenue they wish.

Employees can use the reimbursement allowance they get to pay for monthly premiums and also toward any other out-of-pocket expenses if they have money left over. This provides employees with significantly more flexibility than traditional employer-sponsored group health plans, which typically only provide employees with a few standard choices.

What Advantages Do ICHRA Plans Offer for Employers in Georgia?

Georgia companies can gain numerous advantages by offering their employees ICHRA plans.

First, they can provide exceptional cost savings and cost certainty. They are often much more affordable than traditional employer-sponsored group plans, first and foremost, and businesses get to set the amount of money they want to contribute to the plans, helping to offset the ever-increasing cost of health insurance.

Not only are the reimbursements tax-free to employees, but they are also fully deductible for companies as well.

Plus, ICHRAs serve as a creative and effective way to attract and retain talent. They allow Georgia companies to offer health insurance coverage to even part-time and seasonal workers, simply by creating different classes of employees.

What Advantages Do ICHRA Plans Offer for Employees in Georgia?

Employees also enjoy a wealth of advantages with ICHRA plans.

The flexibility and choice they provide is one of the biggest advantages, allowing employees to choose the health insurance plan that works for them and their family, rather than selecting from a short and often limited list.

Not only that, but since employees will be securing the insurance plan on their own, they can retain coverage even if they leave their current job. This is something that usually isn’t possible with traditional employer-sponsored health plans.

As mentioned, the reimbursement amounts are also tax-free, providing employees with bigger bang for their buck, so to speak.

Finally, it’s extremely simple to submit claims through ICHRA plans and receive appropriate reimbursements for the medical expenses they incur.

Design an ICHRA Plan in Georgia with Beckham Ellis Insurance Group’s Help

Many Georgia businesses will find that offering ICHRA insurance plans is a great way to improve their recruitment and retention efforts while also reducing and controlling expenses.

These plans provide an exceptional alternative to traditional employer-sponsored group health plans, and an increasing number of businesses are offering them today.

If your Georgia business is interested in learning more about ICHRA insurance plans, contact the experts at Beckham Ellis Insurance Group. Our team has years of experience helping businesses just like yours craft attractive benefits packages for employees.

For more information, please contact us today.