HRAs offset premiums and deductibles in group health plans

Employers are discovering how HRAs offset premiums while managing deductibles in group health plans and loving how simple it is to establish a Health Reimbursement Arrangement with our HRA Plan Documents package.

That savings is realized when sponsors combine a Deductible Gap HRA with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The employer benefits by saving money and reducing overhead, but the high-deductible effect to the employee is cushioned by the new HRA.

Here’s how it works

Lower premiums with HDHP

An employer moves to a $1,500 deductible HDHP in place of their former $500 deductible. Then, they set up a new Deductible-Gap HRA plan for employees.

HRA covers higher deductible

The employee still pays only the first $500 because the new HRA pays the higher deductible expense (from $501 to $1,500). This completely shields the employee from the higher deductible expense.

Not all employees will have a deductible gap

Since it is likely only 15% to 20% of plan participants will have medical expenses drawing on more than the $500 deductible, the employer realizes HDHP premium savings on all employees while only experiencing an HRA claim on that 15-20% of employees.

This usually results in major savings for the employer while creating no hardship at all for the employee. That’s how HRAs offset premiums with a win-win for everyone.

Calculate your savings

Our simple one page worksheet (click here to download) helps you estimate the savings potential in the pairing of a HDHP with a Deductible-Gap HRA.

Flexible HRA options

HRAs offset premiums and provide employers with a lot of flexibility through numerous plan design options. Those plan designs include the Comprehensive HRA, the Limited HRA, and the Premium Reimbursement Arrangement HRA. For example:

• Limits can be set on types of services reimbursed by an HRA.
• Defined dollar benefits contributed to a Comprehensive HRA can be made available to employees in a lump sum on January 1 or incrementally throughout the year. (This is in contrast to a Section 125 Health FSA, where the employer can be liable for the full benefit amount on the first day of the plan.)
• You can also choose to carryover unused HRA funds to the next plan year, or have all or a portion of the unused HRA funds forfeited at the end of the year.

The Core Documents Advantage

Since 1997, Core Documents has been the nation’s leading provider of affordable plan documents as required by the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service. We have never charged a mandatory annual subscription or renewal fee and never will.

That means when you buy your plan document package from us, you own it until you genuinely need an update. Since there is no compliance requirement that plans be updated every year, so long as the information in the plan document be current, this means you can continue using the same plan document for two or three years as long as there are no changes to the plan.

Many recently-established copycats charge considerably higher fees for what is actually an annual subscription to your plan document. These companies even put an expiration date right on the plan document to compel you to “renew” it the following year even when nothing in your plan has changed. Some also require exorbitant monthly per-employee administration fees on your plan.

Our packages include helpful information on how to self-administer your plan. If you prefer administration services, option is available but not required. If you do choose to add our administration package, you will find our fees far more affordable than many of our Johnny-come-lately competitors.

Ordering Information

Once you have calculated your savings and are ready to purchase your Deductible Gap HRA Plan Document Package from Core Documents, Inc., click the button below. Then choose the “Deductible Gap HRA” option to get started. Our online ordering system will guide you through each step.

The Core Documents Deductible Gap HRA

 package is just $299.