Everything you need to understand ICHRA.

An Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement lets an employer reimburse employees, tax-free, for individual health insurance they buy themselves — instead of buying one group plan for everyone. You set a fixed monthly allowance; employees choose the plan that fits their family and submit for reimbursement. It's been available to employers of any size since 2020.

Most employers see costs drop 20–30% versus a comparable group plan, primarily because you control the allowance rather than absorbing whatever the carrier sets at renewal. With family group premiums averaging $26,993 in 2025 and rising 6% a year, capping your spend is where the savings come from. Use the savings calculator for an estimate based on your numbers.

For applicable large employers, an ICHRA must be "affordable" to satisfy the ACA employer mandate. For plan year 2026, the threshold is 9.96% of household income (up from 9.02% in 2025) — meaning an employee's cost for the lowest-cost silver plan, after your allowance, can't exceed 9.96% of income. The IRS provides three safe harbors (Federal Poverty Line, Rate-of-Pay, and W-2). Full detail is in our 2026 affordability guide — and Choice runs this testing for you.

There's no IRS cap on what you can contribute — you set the dollar amount, and you can vary it by employee class (full-time, part-time, salaried, hourly, location, age, and more). You can be as generous or as conservative as your budget allows.

DPC is a membership for primary care — unlimited visits, longer appointments, and direct access to a physician, with no per-visit copays. It isn't insurance; it pairs with an insurance plan to cover the everyday care people use most. Under the law enacted in 2025, a DPC membership up to $150/month (single) can pair with an HSA-eligible plan starting January 1, 2026. Choice embeds DPC into every offering — see the DPC + HSA guide.

We do. Choice manages plan documents, enrollment, monthly tax-free reimbursements, affordability testing, and ACA / ERISA / HIPAA reporting. You set the budget; we run the back office.

Yes — that's a core advantage. Because employees choose their own plan on the individual market, they can select coverage that includes the doctors and hospitals they already use, rather than being limited to a single employer-chosen network.

You keep the relationship and you keep getting paid. ICHRA doesn't cut brokers out — it changes the compensation model from group override to a per-employee or consulting arrangement, and it protects your book from the renewal churn that pushes clients to shop you out. Our broker playbook walks through the economics.

Most groups can be up and running in a matter of weeks, depending on size and renewal timing. We handle plan design, documentation, and employee onboarding. The best time to start is ahead of your current plan's renewal — grab the employer one-pager and we'll map the timeline with you.