How ICHRA works

Health benefits with a cost you decide.

A group plan hands you a renewal every year and you either absorb it or pass it on. An ICHRA works the other way round: you choose a monthly allowance, and that number is your cost. It doesn't move unless you move it.

Why this keeps coming up
8–12%

Typical small-group renewal increase for 2026 — the biggest single-year jump since 2010.

20,000+

US businesses now use an ICHRA as their main health benefit, up 53% in a year.

No minimum

No participation threshold and no company-size limit. One W-2 employee is enough.

How it works

Three steps, start to finish.

  1. 01

    You set an allowance

    A monthly dollar amount per employee. You choose it, and you can set different amounts for different groups — full-time and part-time, or by location.

  2. 02

    They choose their own plan

    Each employee picks an individual plan that fits their family and their doctors. It belongs to them, not to the job.

  3. 03

    The allowance pays the premium

    Tax-free to you and to them. Anything above the allowance, the employee covers — and they see that number before they choose.

What's actually on you

Two things: fund the allowance, and tell us when someone joins or leaves. That's the whole job.

We handle the rest
  • The plan document and summary plan description, generated and ready to sign
  • The 90-day employee notice federal rules require, sent on time automatically
  • Enrollment support for every employee, including which plans cover their doctors
  • Tracking who's enrolled, whose coverage is active, and what still needs chasing

$30 per enrolled employee per month. You only pay for people who actually take coverage, and it never comes out of anyone's allowance.

Your team isn't left to figure it out

The usual worry about ICHRA is that “pick your own plan” means “you're on your own.” It doesn't. Every enrolled employee gets a member concierge who handles the parts nobody wants to deal with — and none of it routes back to you.

Talk to a real person about your plan

Your team gets a named human to call, not a general insurance hotline.

Find a doctor who takes your plan

Nobody has to decode a provider directory on their own.

Get an appointment booked

Less time on hold means less time away from a shift.

Understand what your insurer sent you

The single most common source of benefits confusion, handled.

Fix a claim that went wrong

Denied claims get chased by someone who does this daily.

Challenge a bill that looks wrong

Balance-billing disputes are handled, not left to the employee.

Get a replacement ID card

A small thing that generates a surprising number of questions.

Carry it in your pocket

Plan details available at the point of care.

Support runs Monday to Friday, 7am – 7pm Central, and is included — there's no separate charge to you or to your employees.

The questions everyone asks

Is this actually allowed?

Yes. Individual Coverage HRAs were created by federal rule in 2019 and are governed by 26 CFR 54.9802-4. Any employer with at least one W-2 employee can offer one. There is no minimum size and no participation requirement.

Do my employees lose out?

They gain choice. Instead of the one plan you picked for everyone, they choose their own network and their own doctors, and the plan stays with them if they leave. Someone whose spouse already has coverage can pick something cheaper rather than paying for a plan they don’t need.

What if my team is spread across states?

That’s where an ICHRA does its best work. Group plans price and network by location, which is why multi-state franchises get poor quotes or none at all. With an ICHRA everyone shops their own local market and you fund the same allowance regardless of where they live.

What about employees who qualify for a subsidy?

An employee offered an affordable ICHRA can’t also claim a marketplace subsidy — so for some lower-income employees a subsidy is genuinely the better deal. We show you which is which before you commit, rather than after.

Do I have to drop my group plan first?

You can’t offer both to the same class of employees. You can offer an ICHRA to one group and a traditional plan to another — for example, salaried staff on a group plan and hourly staff on an ICHRA.

Ready to see your numbers?

Setup takes about 15 minutes and saves as you go. Nothing is final until you review and sign your plan documents — so you can walk the whole thing and stop if it isn't right.

Run the numbers first

Renewal and adoption figures are for 2026, from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker and the HRA Council's 2026 data report. Individual Coverage HRAs are governed by 26 CFR 54.9802-4. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice — your own numbers depend on your team, and we'll show you those before you commit to anything.