ICHRA Attestation and Why It Matters

Individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs) are still fairly new to the marketplace. And, with this new offering comes new terms, such as ICHRA attestation. Understanding what ICHRA attestation is and why it matters will go a long way in ensuring you and your participants have a successful transition to ICHRAs. 

What is ICHRA attestation?

ICHRAs give employers of all sizes a way to provide funds to employees who purchase individual health insurance. These funds can be used on a variety of expenses of an employer’s choosing, including 213(d) eligible expenses and insurance premiums. They’re a trending benefit, which you can learn more about in our recent Benefits podcast episode. 

To participate in an ICHRA, employees are required to be enrolled in individual health coverage. When three federal agencies issued a final rule on ICHRAs, they stated that employees must verify (commonly referred to as attest) that they are enrolled in individual health coverage, both annually and ongoing throughout the plan year. 

Why is ICHRA attestation/verification important?

The onus is on the employee to attest that they’re enrolled in individual health coverage. However, it is the employer’s responsibility to collect the attestations. That means the plan cannot reimburse employees without the attestation. If it does, then the employer’s ICHRA is not in compliance with the regulations that were introduced last year. 

How can I simplify ICHRA attestation?

Fortunately, the regulations allow for employers to take employees at their words. Employees simply need to attest to their coverage. That means transparency and reporting into their attestation are key. 

We make it easy for our employers to see who has and who hasn’t attested. And it’s easy for employees to complete attestation. For annual attestation, we’ve built in a proactive notification and form within the consumer online account that the employee needs to submit. We’ve also built attestation into the terms and conditions that your employees see in their online account and mobile app every time they submit an ICHRA claim, and it’s also built into our manual claim form. We also provide the ability to suspend their debit cards until they’ve provided annual attestation. 

ICHRAs are a great fit for employers of all sizes and this is just one example of how we streamline the administration for you. Learn more about ICHRAs and download your free white paper.