Just what the insurance industry needs; i.e., another acronym!
We’ve received a number of inquiries from small businesses – those that can’t afford to offer a traditional group health plan - about QSEHRAs, or “Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements.”
For 2019, a business with no more than 50 employees can contribute tax free dollars for medical expenses - including individual health insurance premiums - up to $5,150 for self-only coverage and $10,450 for families.
Of further note:
- there are no contribution or participation minimums. (Yes, you can have just one employee.)
- amounts contributed are usually fixed and thus budgeted more easily than ever rising premiums
- individual ‘Obamacare’ tax credits are off-set dollar for dollar for dollar by employer QSEHRA contributions
Small businesses can formulate their own plan documents; review, approve, and store employee reimbursement requests; and keep up with regulatory changes on their own. This is quite complex and can result in error, subjecting the business to fines.
A better choice would be to hire a third party QSEHRA administrator.
