At a glance
- About one million Americans receive health benefits through the model in 2026.
- Under the arrangement, an employer sets a fixed monthly contribution per employee, who then uses it to buy individual coverage on the ACA marketplace.
- For advisors with business-owner clients, that contribution is a total-compensation line item to review next to retirement plan design.
More than 20,000 US businesses now offer an ICHRA, up 53% from 2025, according to the HRA Council's 2025–2026 annual report cited by InvestmentNews. About one million Americans receive health benefits through the model in 2026.
Under the arrangement, an employer sets a fixed monthly contribution per employee, who then uses it to buy individual coverage on the ACA marketplace. Take Command, a Dallas platform that administers ICHRAs for employers, has been making the case to the Trump administration: chief executive Jack Hooper met with Dr. Mehmet Oz and senior CMS officials a few weeks ago to discuss what the administration calls "CHOICE arrangements," its rebrand of the ICHRA model that employers have had since 2020.
For advisors with business-owner clients, that contribution is a total-compensation line item to review next to retirement plan design. The employer's cost is fixed and the employee gains portability and choice.
"Employers get it faster than their brokers or the insurance companies," Hooper told InvestmentNews. Employer-sponsored family premiums averaged about $26,993 in 2026, up about 26% in five years and outpacing wages and inflation, according to HRA Council figures cited by InvestmentNews.
Employers get it faster than their brokers or the insurance companiesJack Hooper, chief executive of Take Command
Reported by the Practice management desk from InvestmentNews and HRA Council 2025–2026 annual report. Published . Corrections