If you are a small accounting firm that does not offer a group health insurance plan to your employees, a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement (QSEHRA) may be right for you. QSEHRAs are an affordable and convenient way to provide health insurance to your employees and are quickly becoming a popular form of health insurance for CPAs. Reimbursing your team tax-free for their qualified medical expenses and premiums is a good move. The best part? We make it easy to set up.
A flexible alternative to a group health insurance plan
Unlike a group health insurance plan, with a QSEHRA, your employees are free to choose their own insurance provider and plan. Your accounting firm reimburses your CPAs and other employees monthly for the premium cost of the plan they choose.
A QSEHRA offers flexibility for both the accounting firm and its employees. You can set a monthly reimbursement, or “defined contribution” amount, for example, $200 per employee. This way you know exactly what your health insurance costs will be each month.
CPAs prefer QSEHRAs because they afford them flexibility to choose a plan that best fits their needs. They can keep their current plan and apply the reimbursement to pay for it, and don’t need to change providers or prescriptions when they start work at your firm. They can join their spouse’s plan or choose a plan that covers the services or medications they know they’ll need. You no longer have to try to find a one-size-fits-all health plan for your diverse group of employees.
A program designed for small businesses
Your accounting firm is eligible to participate in the QSEHRA program if you employ fewer than 50 people and you do not offer a group healthcare plan.
The QSEHRA reimbursement will apply to your fulltime employees, which the program defines as people who work at least 30 hours a week for at least 120 consecutive days, and does not apply to part-time or seasonal employees.
A low-cost alternative to a group healthcare plan
Your QSEHRA reimbursements are tax-free. You can set the amount you will reimburse your employees every month and know that the cost will be stable and predictable.
The 2021 maximum annual contribution limit is $5,300 for a single person and $10,700 for an employee with a family. Your amount can vary based on your employees’ seniority and whether or not they have family costs.
The refund is completely employer-funded. You cannot ask your employees to contribute to the refund, and it cannot come out of their paychecks.
A hassle-free way for small firms to hire competitively
With a QSEHRA, you can offer your employees health insurance without having the large, unpredictable cost of a group plan. There’s also no need to research, choose and set up a group plan, so a QSEHRA saves employee time. Here is a simple, step-by-step outline of how to set up a QSEHRA.
Take Command can help
If you’re ready to get started with a QSEHRA, Take Command has a platform dedicated to accounting firms like yours that do all the heavy lifting for you. We help you set it up, on-board employees, remain compliant and make tax time a breeze. If you have questions, you can get in touch with us by completing the form below. We would be happy to help!
Hungry for more? Check out the introduction chapter in our handy new QSEHRA Guide!
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I wrote this blog because I care about ideas (big and little) that can help fix our healthcare system. I used to work on projects for Kaiser Permanente and the Parkland Health & Hospital System so I've seen the system inside and out. It's so important that consumers keep up with industry shifts and changing health insurance regulations. I'm also Take Command Health's Content Editor and a busy mom. Learn more about me and connect with me on our about us page. Thanks!
