Abra Help

ICHRA setup

Items marked Coming soon are being rolled out and will be available soon. See What's new for 2027.

For ICHRA groups, the ICHRA section holds everything about the allowance and the plans employees shop from.

ICHRA Settings

Set the state, the domicile county, the effective date, the fees, how the allowance is taxed (pre-tax or after-tax) and the new-hire rules.

Why the effective date locks Coming soon

Once an enrollment period exists, its effective date is locked until coverage starts. Employees' plan prices, eligible plans and applications are all built on that date. Changing it mid-enrollment would leave employees with quotes and choices that no longer match their coverage. To change it, ask Abra support with the reason. Support checks what the change affects, makes it, and keeps a record.

Waiting period for ICHRA new hires Coming soon

In ICHRA Settings, choose the New-hire start date rule and enter the Waiting days. This is separate from the group's general waiting period in Group Information. New hires are only offered dates on or after that, so nobody is quoted for coverage they can't have.

Where plans and prices come from Coming soon

Each ICHRA group gets its individual plans and live prices from one plan source. Abra support chooses the source for the group (see What Abra support does for you). For groups quoted through HealthSherpa:

  • Employees see plans they can enroll in through their ICHRA (off-exchange plans). A plan that's also sold on the exchange is labelled so.
  • A plan that comes back without a price is left out, so it never shows or saves at $0.
  • If a county has no HealthSherpa plans, employees see plans from Abra's second plan source, with a note that their broker or Abra handles enrollment for them.

Coming soon Before a state's prices for next year are released, employees shopping for next year see a note that prices aren't out yet, and no plans. Their current year is never held back. Shopping for next year opens once the prices are in.

Plans employees shop from Coming soon

For each plan year, brokers choose whether the group's employees shop from:

  • ICHRA plans: the group's ICHRA plan list and recommended plans by location (the default), or
  • County plan lists: a short list of plans for each county where employees live.

Group admins see the choice, marked "Your broker chooses this." With county plan lists on, the ICHRA Plans button and Plans by location are hidden, except that a Same for All contribution still uses ICHRA Plans to pick its benchmark plan.

County plan lists

Brokers build one list per county and plan year, with up to eight plans:

  1. Search the county's plans. Each is priced for one 40-year-old so they're easy to compare. Filter by metal level, network type (HMO, PPO, EPO), carrier or HSA-eligible plans, and sort by premium, deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. Labels show HSA and ICHRA only plans.
  2. Save the list as a draft. Employees don't see drafts.
  3. Publish it. Employees then see the published list for the county they live in. Editing a draft changes nothing for them until you publish again.

With county plan lists on, the ICHRA section walks you through one step per location: the home county plus up to five more counties, then Other counties and a summary that highlights gaps. You can build and publish lists before switching the group to them; employees see them only once the group is switched.

If an employee's county has no published list yet, they see every plan they can enroll in there, with a note saying so, and the group's broker gets one notification to publish a list. If a listed plan is no longer sold, it's left out and the broker is told. Group admins see the published lists read-only.

Recommended plans are set per location and per plan year, so employees see plans that are sold where they live and priced for the year they're buying.

  1. Open Recommended plans by location and choose the year.
  2. To start from last year's lists, choose the year to copy from and the year to copy to, then copy. Adjust the lists afterwards. This copies the plan lists only; contributions are set separately.
  3. Pick up to four recommended plans for each location. If the group uses county plan lists, build each county's list instead, with up to eight plans.
  4. Optionally, turn on Show Recommended Plans Only for the enrollment period, in Enrollment Dates.

Coming soon Plan cards show each recommended plan's primary care, specialist and drug copays. When Show Recommended Plans Only is On, brokers can still save a plan that isn't on the list for an employee, from Employee View. Abra asks for a reason and keeps it on record. Employees and group admins can only choose recommended plans.

A group with no location lists for the year shows its employees no recommended plans, and More Plans stays open to them. The exception is when Show Recommended Plans Only is On: then employees at those locations can't save a plan. Abra support checks for groups in this state before enrollment opens.

Where employees live Coming soon

Plans and prices depend on the county an employee lives in, so Abra records each employee's home county.

  • Most ZIP codes are in one county, and Abra fills it in. Nobody is asked.
  • If an employee's ZIP code covers more than one county, they're asked Which county do you live in? when they shop. You can also set it for them.
  • The Where employees live panel in the ICHRA section counts active employees by county and lists anyone with no county yet, and why (no ZIP code, an unrecognised ZIP code, or a ZIP code that covers several counties). Press Set county to choose one.

When an employee moves Coming soon

When an employee's county changes during the year, the new county takes effect on the 1st of the next month. It's never backdated. The employee sees the date on their county card, for example "From Dec 1: …". If the change comes from a new ZIP code on their record, Abra notices it overnight.

Brokers get a notification to check the employee's plan, which may not be sold in the new county, and their class and contribution. Abra doesn't change the plan or class by itself.

Rating-area classes Coming soon

Under the federal ICHRA rules, everyone in a class gets the same terms; only age and family size may change the amount. So when a contribution is based on a benchmark plan, you can set up one class per rating area, each with a benchmark county:

  • The class's benchmark plan comes from its benchmark county's published plan list, and is priced in that county. Each employee's own plan is still priced where they live.
  • The Rating-area classes panel shows each class with its benchmark county, rating area, employee count and number of published plans, plus where employees live by rating area.
  • A check lists employees whose class is set to a different rating area, whose class has no benchmark county, who have no county yet, or whose county has no rating area. Move them on the Classes tab; Abra doesn't move anyone by itself.

Brokers set the benchmark county. Group admins see the panel read-only.