Great to see NPR, in collaboration with KFF News, publish this well-reported story for consumer and business audiences, including an ICHRA case study. Multiple HRA Council members and leaders are mentioned, some are quoted. 

This link is to the full story, with a sample excerpt immediately below: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/09/24/nx-s1-5123888/individual-coverage-health-reimbursement-arrangement 

Excerpt: Growing interest in an alternative to group plans

The plans are currently offered to only a tiny slice of workers: an estimated 500,000 of the roughly 165 million people with employer-sponsored coverage, according to the HRA Council.

But interest is growing. The number of employers offering ICHRAs and an earlier type of plan, called qualified small-employer HRAs, increased 29% from 2023 to 2024, according to the council. And, although small employers have made up the bulk of adopters to date, larger employers with at least 50 workers are the fastest-growing cohort.

Individual market insurers like Oscar Health and Centene see opportunities to expand their footprint through the plans. Some venture capitalists are touting them as well.

“The [traditional group] health insurance cornerstone from 60 years ago has outlived its usefulness,” said Matt Miller, whose Headwater Ventures has invested in the ICHRA administrator Venteur. “The goal is to ensure people have coverage, detaching it from the employment construct and making it portable.”