Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) Section 105 Overview

A Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) is an employee benefit plan designed to help offset medical expenses incurred by the employee. HRAs vary greatly in design, but are basically developed to cover the expenses not covered by group health or supplemental plans.

HRAs can vary greatly in design. For example, one HRA can be designed to cover all or a portion of the deductible and co-pays on your health care plans on High Deductible Health Coverage (HDHC), while another can be designed to reimburse the employee for dental and vision expenses. It just depends on your goals in providing employee benefits.

An HRA can be "linked" or "unlinked." A linked HRA is tied to a health plan; the employee has to participate in the health plan to be eligible for the HRA. An unlinked (or stand-alone) HRA is set up to pay certain expenses, such as dental or vision expenses, without any dconnection to an insurance policy.

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