As employers continue to look for new ways to manage rising healthcare costs and provide meaningful benefits to their teams, Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA) are increasingly becoming part of the conversation.
We recently sat down with Matt Otto of Hauser to talk about how benefits consultants are approaching ICHRA today, where it fits in the benefits landscape, and what consultants should know as interest continues to grow.
Below is a recap of our conversation.
Matt Otto
Managing Director, Human Capital
Cincinnati, OH
Matt Otto is Managing Director, Human Capital at Hauser and brings more than 30 years of experience across insurance, financial services, and business advisory roles. He is known for his strategic leadership, strong client relationships, and ability to connect financial, operational, and people-related priorities into practical business solutions.
Since joining Hauser in 2016, Matt has led client strategy and service planning with a focus on service excellence, claims and utilization analysis, stewardship reporting, due diligence, business planning, and communication. His background includes leadership roles with Humana and American Financial Group, as well as foundational experience in public accounting and finance.
Matt holds degrees in Finance and Accounting from the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business and is a licensed Health and Life/Annuity professional.
Q&A with Matt Otto
What would you say to a benefits consultant who hasn’t explored ICHRA yet?
ICHRA is worth understanding because it is becoming an increasingly relevant strategy in the employer benefits landscape, particularly as organizations look for more flexibility, cost control, and alternatives to traditional group plans.
A consultant does not need to position it as the answer for every employer, but they should at least be knowledgeable enough to identify when it may be a strong fit. Employers are asking different questions today, and ICHRA deserves a place in that conversation.
How are you positioning ICHRA to your clients today?
We position ICHRA as a strategic option, not a one-size-fits-all solution.
For the right employer, it can create greater budget predictability, simplify participation across diverse employee populations, and offer a different path when traditional market options are limited, volatile, or no longer aligning with business objectives.
Our role is to help clients evaluate whether ICHRA fits their workforce, culture, and long-term goals.
Why should Private Equity firms consider ICHRA for their portfolio companies?
From a Private Equity perspective, ICHRA can be appealing because it introduces flexibility, scalability, and a more defined contribution approach to healthcare.
That can be especially meaningful across a portfolio of companies with varying geographies, demographics, and employee populations. Instead of trying to standardize traditional group plans across very different businesses, ICHRA can offer a framework that adapts more easily across diverse operating environments.
How does the value you provide your clients change, if at all, when implementing an ICHRA?
The value does not diminish. If anything, it shifts and expands.
The consulting role becomes even more important because clients still need strategic guidance around plan design, contribution strategy, compliance considerations, employee communication, implementation coordination, and ongoing evaluation.
The mechanism may look different than a traditional group health plan, but the need for strong consulting and trusted partnership remains very much intact.
What has your experience been like partnering with Take Command? What has stood out most?
Our experience has been constructive and collaborative.
What has stood out most is the shared focus on helping employers understand where ICHRA may fit and supporting a model that is still evolving in the marketplace.
The Bottom Line
Conversations like this highlight an important shift in the benefits landscape. Employers are asking new questions about cost control, flexibility, and employee choice, and benefits consultants are expanding the toolkit they bring to those discussions.
For many consultants, ICHRA is becoming a strategy worth understanding, evaluating, and bringing into the broader benefits conversation.
Interested in partnering with Take Command?
