Employees have great options from Covered California

The Commonwealth Health Reinsurance Program is a state-funded initiative. Its purpose is to reduce premiums on the Virginia health insurance marketplace and encourage insurance competition, directly reducing costs for consumers.

State actuaries estimate that CHRP will reduce average monthly premiums in 2026 by $117 per member per month, making plans on Virginia's Insurance Marketplace 15% to 20% less expensive than they would be without the program.3

3 https://www.quiverquant.com/news/Press+Release%3A+SCC+Reports+Proposed+Health+Insurance+Premiums+for+Virginia+Plan+Year+2026

By moving from a group health insurance plan to an ICHRA, employers give employees the opportunity to choose the plan that works for their family. Employees get to do this in a more stable, state-supported market, often leading to lower overall costs for the same level of coverage.

The end result is that Virginia employers unlock state-subsidized rates for their employees that aren't available in the traditional small group market.

Virginia has enacted several new healthcare mandates that will affect the cost and coverage requirements for state-regulated insurance plans beginning in 2026. They include mental health and substance use parity (HB 2738), elimination of cost-sharing for breast imaging, expanded cancer screenings (HB 2097), and Medicaid work requirements.

When a new mandate is passed in Virginia, fully-insured small group plans must adjust their premiums to cover the increased actuarial risk. In contrast, an HRA allows an employer to set a defined contribution.

Yes. Starting in the 2026 plan year, a significant federal regulatory shift has standardized Health Savings Account (HSA) eligibility for plans purchased through state marketplaces.

Previously, a health plan was only HSA-qualified if it met strict IRS criteria regarding its specific deductible and out-of-pocket maximums. However, effective January 1, 2026, all Bronze and Catastrophic plans purchased through Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace are now automatically classified as High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) for the purpose of HSA eligibility.