Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
A Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) is a special tax-favored benefit that allows employers to provide assistance to participating employees with the rising cost of healthcare. There are many different types of Health Reimbursement Arrangements, so the intent of this information is to provide a basic overview of the plans. If you have additional questions or concerns after reading this, please contact your benefit office or ASIFlex at (800) 659-3035.
Health Reimbursement Arrangements are employer-owned accounts that allow participants to be reimbursed for eligible out-of-pocket expenses, including co-pays, coinsurance and deductibles. Health Reimbursement Arrangements are typically tied to a Consumer Driven Health Plan, or High Deductible Health Plan, typically creating lower health insurance premiums for employees and employers. Employers will contribute a predetermined dollar amount for each employee into the account and the employee will have a set amount of time in which the funds must be claimed. Claim submission requires an ASIFlex claim form as well as supporting documentation. Typically, the supporting documentation must be the Explanation of Benefit statement that is generated by your health insurance provider.
Health Reimbursement Arrangements allow employees to be reimbursed for eligible expenses from a pool of funds set aside by the employer. In many instances, the employee has to meet a certain deductible threshold before the Health Reimbursement Arrangement will start to pay out. For example, your deductible is $1,500 and your employer’s Health Reimbursement Arrangement is set up to pay for any deductible expenses above $500. You must submit documentation to ASIFlex showing valid deductible expenses that total at least $500.01 before any payments will be issued. You may submit claims as frequently or infrequently as you would like, however, ASIFlex will not issue any reimbursements until the $500 threshold has been reached. Once that level has been attained, ASIFlex will issue payments within several business days of receiving the reimbursement request along with the appropriate documentation.
Please see your employer’s Summary Plan Description (SPD) for more specific information regarding your plan.