BASE^® Blog

In the last 10 years, the average cost of health insurance premiums has risen faster than inflation in the last 5 years – 22% vs. 11%. For businesses that offer a group health plan, adding in a benefit to help offset premiums and employee out-of-pocket costs, is essential.  One way to supplement a business’ group health plan is through the Integrated HRA.

The BASE® Integrated HRA is an IRS-approved tax savings plan for businesses who sponsor group health insurance and are looking to lower the cost of health insurance premiums, helping to supplement their employees’ deductible costs.   The Integrated HRA works with any group health plan, making the HRA portable, to help the business save thousands each year in valuable tax savings and suppress the annual increases most associated with traditional forms of health care.

Implementing the Integrated HRA with BASE®, the employer will be able to couple it with any group health plan that fits best for their business. No matter what group health plan offered, or the group health plan offered in the future, it will work seamlessly with the Integrated HRA.

Here are a few benefits to utilizing the BASE® Integrated HRA:

Plan Design.

The employer gets to choose to raise the deductible, which reduces the overall cost of the plan, self-insure a portion of that deductible to keep the employee’s responsibility of the deductible maintainable, and decide the allotted allowance amount each employee will receive. 

Tax Benefit.

All reimbursements to employees are 100% deductible as a business expense, meaning free of payroll taxes for employers and free of income taxes for employees. 

Protection of Funds.

The employer does not need to prefund an account.  The reimbursements to their employees are made when a qualifying expense has been adjudicated by BASE®. 

Savings.

The Integrated HRA has been proven to reduce health insurance premium increases by 10-50%. 

Recruit and Retain.

A group health plan is one of the most popular ways for employers to offer health benefits to offer (and use to recruit new) employees AND one of the most popular ways to recruit and retain talented employees.  By supplementing the (already attractive) group health plan with the HRA, an employer’s health benefits are more attractive than what other companies are offering. 

Offering the BASE® Integrated HRA is one of the most simple and cost-effective ways to help lower the cost of health insurance premiums while keeping employee coverage the same.  

For more information on the BASE® Integrated HRA, contact BASE® at 888.386.9680 or visit www.BASEonline.com.

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BASE® knows it can be challenging to prepare and file Form 5500, especially when employers do not know that the benefits, such as medical and dental, may require separate filings from their retirement plans.  When something is this important, it deserves the help of qualified professionals to make sure the appropriate Form 5500 is filled out, prepared, and submitted. 

The Form 5500 is an annual report of Employee Benefit Plans, filed with the US Department of Labor, used to report important information regarding employee health and welfare benefit plans.  This form ensures that employee benefit plans are administered and managed in compliance with certain standards, and that all participants and their beneficiaries, have been given or have access to information about their plans.  A business’ forms are due the last day of the 7^th month of the plan year, which means the deadline is quickly approaching for most plans.

The BASE® 5500 Solver helps employers effectively prepare and file the Form 5500.  This comprehensive compliance solution generates custom compliant documents that allow employers to easily prepare and file electronically each year.  This innovative solution is for employers with 100 or more employees who provide health and welfare benefits to their employees. 

It is important that businesses who qualify to submit Form 5500 Series forms and schedules prepare, file, and submit in a timely manner to avoid steep penalties for failing to comply with this regulation.  The penalty for failure to file Form 5500 series has increased to $250 per day, but to not exceed $150,000. 

Our team at BASE® can help any employer that is required to prepare, file, and submit the Form 5500, to do so in a timely manner and avoid steep penalties, as well as administer any other health and welfare benefit plans that fit their business’ needs. 

For more information on the BASE® 5500 Solver, contact BASE® at 888.386.9680 or visit www.BASEonline.com. 

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