5 Ways CHOICE Arrangements are More Flexible Than Your Group Health Plan
CHOICE Arrangements offer employers contribution control, no participation minimums, employee plan choice, class-based customization, and easy scaling. See how they’re…
Benafica is a health benefits and insurance company that helps employers offer flexible, tax-free health reimbursement plans instead of traditional group health insurance.
ICHRA · CHOICE Arrangements
ICHRA Administration for Any Size Employer
A successful ICHRA takes more than a platform.
Benafica brings the technology, administration, compliance, payment infrastructure, and people to make it work.
As of September 3, 2026: The Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) has a new name: CHOICE Arrangement. CHOICE stands for Custom Health Option and Individual Care Expense.
For Employers
ICHRA with Benafica
An Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA), also known as a CHOICE Arrangement, lets employers reimburse employees tax-free for qualifying individual health insurance and eligible medical expenses. Employers set the contribution, and employees choose their coverage.
- Employers of any size can offer ICHRA
- No more renewal surprises
- No minimum participation requirements
Want a simpler benefit for a smaller team?
QSEHRA gives employers with fewer than 50 employees one monthly allowance for everyone, with no group plan to manage.
Benefits Made Simple
How ICHRA Works
Employer sets monthly allowance
Decide how much to contribute each month toward each employee’s healthcare costs, based on local individual market plans.
Employees choose coverage
Employees shop, compare, and enroll in an individual plan that fits their needs — right inside the BEN360 platform.
We enroll and set up payments
We process enrollment behind the scenes and set up monthly premium payments so coverage stays active without extra work on your end.
Ongoing administration
New hires, terminations, and qualifying life events are all handled in one place, with support year-round.
Go Deeper
More About ICHRA
End-to-end ICHRA support
We Handle the Administration
Running an ICHRA means handling plan documents, employee notices, coverage substantiation, premium payment and reconciliation, mid-year changes, payroll treatment, and year-end reporting.
Benafica Handles:
- Plan design and documents (SPD)
- Affordability modeling
- Class design / eligibility
- Employee onboarding and questions
- Premium payments and reimbursement processing
- Ongoing plan administration (new hires, separations, QLEs)
- Reporting and recordkeeping
- Referral to full-service ICHRA tax reporting help*
*Benafica provides administrative and reporting support but does not provide tax or legal advice. Employers remain responsible for reviewing, approving, and filing their required tax forms and should consult their tax advisor regarding their specific reporting obligations.
For Brokers
Expand Your Benefits Strategy
An ICHRA isn’t a product that replaces what you sell. It’s a second answer for the client whose renewal came back at eighteen percent. It also opens groups you couldn’t write before:
- The 12-person firm that never hit participation
- The group with staff in 4 states
- The split workforce who need a rich network and a low premium
Benafica handles the administration. You keep the relationship.
Group renewals move. An ICHRA allowance doesn't.
For Employees
More CHOICE in How You're Covered
Choose your plan
Shop for a plan that meets your needs, budget, doctors and prescriptions
Use your benefit
Your employer provides a monthly amount toward eligible coverage
Coverage through life changes
Change your coverage with qualifying life events, like marriage or having a baby
Take it with you
Your individual plan is yours. Keep it if you change jobs, so you're never starting over
SAMPLE COVERAGE · PER MONTH
100% covered
$567
Employer
$0
Employee
83% covered
$695
Employer
$137
Employee
75% covered
$846
Employer
$283
Employee
67% covered
$640
Employer
$315
Employee
ICHRA platform
Meet BEN360: Our ICHRA Platform
- Payment Transparency: Track every carrier payment to confirmation
- Enrollment Visibility: See who's enrolled, who's mid-application, and who hasn't started
- Year-Round Support: New hires, terminations, and qualifying life events handled by our team
Available in all 50 States
ICHRA is a federal arrangement, so employers can offer it wherever their team lives and works.
FAQ
ICHRA Frequently Asked Questions
Who can offer an ICHRA?
Employers of any size can offer an ICHRA. You need to have at least one W-2 employee. An ICHRA typically starts to make more sense for employers with 5 or more employees.
How do I decide how much to contribute?
Most employers start by looking at current benefits spend and local individual-market premiums for their employees’ ages and locations. From there, they choose an allowance strategy. With a flat-dollar strategy, you offer a flat amount to all your employees (or employees across a group). With an age-banded strategy, you offer a percentage of a targeted plan’s premium, such as 75% of a gold plan. Learn more about contribution strategies.
Can I offer both ICHRA and a group plan?
Yes. ICHRA can either be used to fully replace your traditional group health plan or you can offer it alongside a group plan for specific employee classes. For example, you might offer a group plan to full-time employees and an ICHRA to part-time employees.
How do ICHRA employee classes work?
Employee classes let employers offer different allowance amounts and eligibility rules to defined groups, such as full-time, part-time, salaried, hourly, different locations, etc. There are 11 different classes and they are set by IRS regulations. Employees in the same class must be treated equally. Learn more about ICHRA employee classes.
Does an ICHRA satisfy the ACA employer mandate?
Yes. An ICHRA can satisfy the ACA employer mandate as long as premiums are considered “affordable” for your employees. Learn more about affordability.
Can I start an ICHRA mid-year?
Yes. You don’t have to wait for Jan 1st to start an ICHRA. Offering an ICHRA opens up a special enrollment period for your employees. Read our blog article on this for more.
What happens to unused ICHRA funds?
Unused funds stay with the employer. If employees choose a plan that’s less expensive than your contribution, the extra funds stay with the company. You can also choose to reimburse out-of-pocket medical expenses with leftover funds.
Does ICHRA work in every state?
ICHRA is available nationwide, but the experience varies with the strength of each state’s individual market. A handful of states have also begun adding their own ICHRA incentives. See what states are doing.
What happens when an employee leaves?
The allowance ends per your plan’s terms — but the employee’s health plan is theirs, not yours, so their coverage continues if they keep paying for it.
How does ICHRA affect premium tax credits?
An ICHRA and a Premium Tax Credit (PTC) generally can’t be used together. If an ICHRA is considered affordable, an employee isn’t eligible for a Marketplace Premium Tax Credit. If the ICHRA is unaffordable, the employee can choose between accepting the ICHRA or opting out and using the Premium Tax Credit instead. Read our blog article on this for more.
How long does it take to set up an ICHRA?
Setting up an ICHRA can happen quickly when we have the information we need to get started. The bigger consideration is timing. Employers need to meet required notice periods and give employees enough time to understand their new benefit, review their coverage options, and choose an individual health plan.
Starting early gives everyone more time to prepare and helps make the transition to an ICHRA as smooth as possible.
Can I keep my broker?
Absolutely. Many employers keep their broker for overall benefits strategy while the ICHRA itself is administered by a TPA. We work alongside brokers regularly rather than replacing them.
On the Blog
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