For employers
Health benefits, without the group-plan headache
PlanMatch helps employers understand their health-benefit options in plain language — from traditional small-group coverage and level-funded plans to the ICHRA, a defined-contribution approach where you set a tax-free budget and employees choose their own coverage. These guides explain how each works, how they compare, and how to decide.
Offering health benefits keeps getting harder and more expensive. These guides explain the options in plain language for owners, HR, and brokers — from traditional group coverage to the ICHRA, a defined-contribution approach where you set a budget and employees choose their own plan. No carrier pitches, no jargon, just how each option actually works.
Group plans keep getting more expensive
Traditional group coverage renews every year, and the increases have been steep — employers have been bracing for benefit-cost jumps in the mid-single digits or more. On top of the cost, one plan rarely fits a whole team, and someone has to manage renewals, enrollment, and COBRA. It’s no surprise more employers are looking at the alternatives.
The defined-contribution alternative
An Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA) flips the model. Instead of buying a group plan, you set a tax-free monthly allowance, and each employee buys their own individual-market plan and gets reimbursed. You control the budget — no surprise renewals — and employees pick the coverage, network, and doctor that fit them. It’s available to employers of any size. For the smallest employers with no group plan, its simpler capped cousin — the QSEHRA — does much the same thing on a fixed budget.
Or traditional coverage, done right
Group insurance still suits plenty of teams, and there’s more to it than a fully-insured plan. Our small-group guides cover how community rating works, the SHOP marketplace, the small-business tax credit worth up to half your premiums, and level-funded plans — a self-funded middle path that can save a healthy group money.
Figuring out which fits
No single option is best for everyone — it depends on your size, budget, and team. These guides lay out the trade-offs honestly, and our decision framework puts group coverage, level-funded plans, an ICHRA, and a QSEHRA side by side so you can choose with clear eyes.
Start here
Exploring your options?
Not sure where to start?
We can talk through which arrangement (ICHRA, QSEHRA, group, or level-funded) fits your team, your budget, and your goals — no pressure, no jargon.
If you set up an ICHRA or QSEHRA, your employees shop the individual market — they can compare plans at PlanMatch Health.