Employer Health Benefits - Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) (advantage, insurance, costs)

[Greyhnd]

Curious if anyone has an HRA as their employer benefits and if so, what do you see as the pros and cons of it?

[Basiliximab]

Don't know if that's anything like an "FSA" (flexible spending account") where a certain amount gets withheld from each check and you can send in receipts for health-care related items in order to get a refund. That's what I have right now. I was a bit skeptical of it since I wasn't sure how much of a hassle it would be to get back the funds you put into it.

I found the advantage is that the money gets taken out of your check (and it's not taxable, so you get a little extra) like taxes, so when you get it back, it's kind of like extra money (sort of like a tax-return); at least that's how I see it. Of course, you could just choose not to have the extra money taken out, and then just use it whenever you do need to buy health-related items.

The disadvantage to me is that you actually have to go and send in the paperwork; something I was never fond of.

I found it to be not difficult at all to get the funds back; being pessimistic as I am, I had imagined they would nit-pick the receipts and give any reason possible for not giving the refund. I haven't encountered this at all. I think next year, I'll continue to do the FSA; maybe it's just me, but I like getting refunds like that, even if it was just money that was originally taken out of my check.

[Greyhnd]

No, it's different from FSA. I've participated in an FSA for quite a few years now, never had any problem with that. Some plans will automatically handle it through your insurance claims and you'll just get a check in the mail, no paperwork needed.

I haven't attended the benefits seminar yet but from the little I read on the internet, this is employer's way of trying to save money on rising healthcare costs. I think it works that they will only provide you with a certain amount of money for your healthcare for the year, once that is used up, then you have nothing in your plan, or if you don't use it all up, then it will rollover for the next year. I'm thinking it's a terrible plan unless you are very healthy and spend very little on medical expenses. I'll have to see what they say about it, I was just curious if anyone was part of one and what they thought of it.