By Secretaries Acosta, Mnuchin and Azar
The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 23, 2018
The Trump administration is proposing a regulation that would create a new vehicle for employers, especially small firms, to provide health coverage for their employees. The proposed rule would allow employers to reimburse employees for health insurance they purchase on their own—including short-term, limited-duration plans that are more flexible than ACA plans or pooling funds with a spouse to purchase a family plan. Employers can provide a defined contribution to employees that carries the same tax advantages as employer-sponsored health insurance. It also would allow employers that offer a traditional group plan to also offer a Health Reimbursement Arrangement of up to $1,800 a year to reimburse an employee for certain qualified medical expenses such as stand-alone dental benefits. Read More…