[OEBBBUSMAN] OEBB -- Considering Offering Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) -- Your input needed!

[Business Managers-OEBB]

Dear Business Managers:

Earlier this year, the Oregon Educators Benefit Board (OEBB) asked staff to gather input from participating entities on their use of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and their thoughts on whether OEBB should add these types of benefit plans to the OEBB benefit offerings.  This information will be used as the Board prepares to release a request for proposal (RFP) for a vendor, or vendors, to administer the health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for entities who wish to use the OEBB-preferred vendor and will help the Board decide whether to include services related to HRAs in that RFP.

Unlike the HSA and FSA plans, HRAs are treated as medical plans under the statute governing OEBB.  This means if OEBB contracts with a vendor for an HRA product, OEBB-participating entities will be required to use that vendor if they offer an HRA to their employees.  If OEBB does not offer an HRA product, the entities can continue to contract with a vendor of their choice.

Two of the main reasons the Board is considering offering HRAs are:

1)      The possibility of reducing administrative costs associated with the arrangements (due to volume); and
2)      To allow entities to contribute to a General Purpose HRA (one that reimburses for all qualified health care expenses while the participant is actively employed) when:
*       the employee opts-out of medical coverage, and
*       is covered by a group medical plan as a spouse/domestic partner through a non-OEBB employer.

It is possible that if one vendor was able to, and was selected to, administer all three types of "savings accounts" (i.e., HSAs, FSAs and HRAs), there would be the opportunity for entities to see a reduced workload for administrative activities on their end as well.

Please help us gather this important information for the OEBB Board by completing this short survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OEBB-HRA

It simply asks about your entity's current use of HRAs and a couple of questions about whether your entity supports OEBB pursuing an HRA vendor for participating entities to use.

If there is someone else at your entity more appropriate to respond to this survey, please forward this email to him or her.  We will be leaving the survey open through Friday, May 16, 2014.  Questions about the process or the survey itself should be directed to the OEBB Member Services Team at 888-469-6322 or via email at oebb.benefits at oregon.gov<mailto:oebb.benefits at oregon.gov>.  Thank you in advance for your time.


Sincerely,

Denise L. Hall
Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB<http://egov.oregon.gov/DAS/OEBB>

OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!!     Pass it on.....
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx



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