2018-23183: Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans

Summary

This document sets forth proposed rules to expand opportunities for working men and women and their families to access affordable, quality healthcare through proposed changes to regulations under various provisions of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) regarding health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and other account-based group health plans. (For simplicity, this preamble generally refers only to HRAs, but references to HRAs should also be considered to include other account-based group health plans, unless indicated otherwise.) Specifically, these proposed rules allow integrating HRAs with individual health insurance coverage, if certain conditions are met. The proposed rules also set forth conditions under which certain HRAs would be recognized as limited excepted benefits. Also, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) propose rules regarding premium tax credit (PTC) eligibility for individuals offered coverage under an HRA integrated with individual health insurance coverage. In addition, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposes a clarification to provide plan sponsors with assurance that the individual health insurance coverage the premiums of which are reimbursed by an HRA or a qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement (QSEHRA) does not become part of an ERISA plan, provided certain conditions are met. Finally, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposes rules that would provide a special enrollment period in the individual market for individuals who gain access to an HRA integrated with individual health insurance coverage or who are provided a QSEHRA. The goal of these proposed rules is to expand the flexibility and use of HRAs to provide more Americans with additional options to obtain quality, affordable healthcare. The proposed rules would affect employees and their family members; employers, employee organizations, and other plan sponsors; group health plans; health insurance issuers; and purchasers of individual health insurance coverage.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 8 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 26 CFR 1 Income Taxes
• 26 CFR 54 Pension Excise Taxes
• 29 CFR 2510 Definition of Terms Used in Subchapters C, D, E, F, G, and L of This Chapter
• 29 CFR 2590 Rules and Regulations for Group Health Plans
• 45 CFR 144 Requirements Relating to Health Insurance Coverage
• 45 CFR 146 Requirements for the Group Health Insurance Market
• 45 CFR 147 Health Insurance Reform Requirements for the Group and Individual Health Insurance Markets
• 45 CFR 155 Exchange Establishment Standards and Other Related Standards Under the Affordable Care Act