Affordable, flexible health benefits for schools and universities with an ICHRA
Remodel Health helps colleges, universities, and private K-12 organizations offer and manage individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs). Instead of choosing a costly and restrictive group health plan, you can control your benefits costs while giving your faculty more choice in their healthcare.
Largest ICHRA administrator
95% customer retention
The challenge of traditional group coverage for schools and universities
Colleges, universities, and private K-12 institutions aren’t immune to rising healthcare costs. Schools still need competitive benefits to recruit and retain top faculty and administrative staff. However, educational institutions often employ a highly diverse workforce of tenured professors, adjunct instructors, remote educators, and support staff, which makes finding a health benefit that works for everyone’s needs difficult.
That’s why many schools are turning to the ICHRA. Instead of choosing a restrictive self-funded plan or traditional group coverage, the ICHRA allows institutions to set a fixed budget while giving employees the freedom to choose their own individual health insurance coverage.
Whether you’re looking into the ICHRA for the first time or want to switch from your group plan, Remodel Health can help you design, implement, and manage a compliant benefit that works with your budget.
How does the ICHRA work for schools and universities?
The ICHRA has become one of the most flexible and cost-effective alternatives to traditional group health insurance for educational institutions. Instead of selecting one group plan for all employees, an ICHRA allows organizations to provide their employees with a set tax-free monthly allowance for healthcare costs. Employees then enroll in their own individual health plans, submit proof of coverage, and then use their ICHRA allowance to pay for the premiums.
According to KFF, the average annual premium for employer-sponsored coverage in 2025 was $9,325 for single coverage and $26,993 for family coverage. Employers typically pay the majority of those costs. For schools and universities with tight budgets, the ICHRA’s defined contribution strategy offers a way to provide employees with flexible benefits to cover their medical bills without the risk exposure.
Here’s how an ICHRA works for schools and universities:
- Your institution sets the budget. First, your school determines how much tax-free money to contribute toward your employees’ monthly healthcare expenses. Unlike traditional group plans, there are no annual contribution caps, so you can design a benefit strategy that works with your finances. You can also customize allowances based on employee classes, age, and family status, and adjust the amounts at the end of the plan year.
- Employees compare and enroll in health coverage. With an ICHRA, employees choose the individual health insurance plan that best fits their needs, family situation, and preferred provider network. This gives employees more options when choosing coverage. For example, a younger adjunct professor may want a plan with lower premiums, and a faculty member with a family may need broader provider networks.
- Employees can choose whichever plan type works best for them. However, they must enroll in a qualifying individual health insurance plan that provides minimum essential coverage (MEC) to participate in the benefit.
- Employees use their allowance to pay for premiums. Employees use their tax-free ICHRA allowance to pay for their individual health insurance premiums. If the employee selects a more expensive plan than their ICHRA monthly allowance, they‘ll simply pay the difference out-of-pocket. With Remodel Health, we typically facilitate this through pre-tax payroll deductions for off-exchange plans.
Why the ICHRA effectively supports schools and universities
Employee class customization
Schools and universities typically have various workplace demographics. From tenured faculty to administrative teams to graduate assistants, educational institutions need a health benefits program that can work for employees with different needs and budgets.
With an ICHRA, institutions can use employee classes to customize eligibility rules and allowance amounts. For example, a university could offer a traditional group health insurance plan to full-time faculty while providing an ICHRA to adjunct or part-time instructors.
An employer can also use the geographic employee class to account for varying healthcare costs across multiple campuses or remote teaching locations. This flexibility is especially beneficial for universities with satellite campuses, online-only faculty, or employees living in different states with varying local premium costs.
Keep in mind that rating area geographic employee classes have no minimum requirement if you’re only offering an ICHRA. However, if you offer an ICHRA and group health insurance to different employee classes, minimum class size rules may apply.
By tailoring benefits to specific employee populations, schools can create a customized ICHRA benefit that’s fair for all participating staff members, regardless of their location or unique needs.
ICHRA and Medicare coordination for senior faculty
Many colleges and universities employ long-tenured faculty and administrators who are almost or already eligible for Medicare. An ICHRA allows employers to reimburse Medicare premiums on a tax-free basis for employees enrolled in Medicare. This includes Medicare Advantage (also known as Part C) plans, which many senior faculty members prefer for greater coverage options and predictable costs.
Successful coordination allows eligible employees to take advantage of their ICHRA benefit while still enrolling in their chosen Medicare plan instead of delaying enrollment until later. Better yet, Remodel Health’s in-house licensed specialists can help employees navigate Medicare enrollment to ensure they have the right coverage and get all their questions answered.
Predictable budgets can manage rising healthcare costs
Healthcare costs have steadily risen over the past decade. However, there are a few factors that have contributed to their sharp increase over the past few years. One of the biggest drivers of rising claims costs in 2026 is the growing demand for specialty medications, especially GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
If you have several faculty members who need access to these specialty drugs, a traditional group plan will leave you with significant financial risk of high medical claims, which can spike your premium rates during renewal time.
An ICHRA can eliminate the unpredictable claims process and annual renewal costs. Because it uses a defined contribution model, institutions decide upfront how much they want to contribute toward employee healthcare expenses. In turn, you’ll have a cost-predictable benefit, and employees can receive financial help to pay for individual health insurance premiums and other costly medical expenses, like specialty drugs, behavioral health specialists, and urgent care.
Simplified administration with the right ICHRA partner
Managing your ICHRA can place a lot of administrative burden on HR teams at schools and universities — especially if you’re new to the benefit or a smaller school with limited resources. Luckily, the right ICHRA partner can help simplify administration.
Remodel Health is the largest and most trusted ICHRA administrator. Our ICHRA+® platform helps schools keep benefit management easy while providing employees with personalized support year-round.
Our team helps educational institutions:
- Design customized ICHRA benefit strategies
- Create compliant legal plan documents and employee notices
- Host employee onboarding and education sessions with personalized tips on how to get the most to get the most out of their ICHRA
- Integrate with payroll and HRIS systems
- Set up insurance payments for employees with our AutoPay system
- Provide compliance and tax reporting support
- Help employees compare and enroll in individual and Medicare plans
With dedicated customer service and compliance expertise, Remodel Health helps schools focus less on benefit administration so they can focus more on supporting their students and faculty members.
“Remodel Health provided a platform of technology, but also a lot of really experienced people. At the same time we announced this insurance change, we were able to give raises to our employees. Our savings have been substantial, at least half a million dollars.” - Dr. Bill Katip, President, Grace College
Success stories
“Remodel Health provided a platform of technology, but also a lot of really experienced people. At the same time we announced this insurance change, we were able to give raises to our employees. Our savings have been substantial, at least half a million dollars.”
Dr. Bill Katip
President, Grace College
Why schools and universities choose Remodel Health
Proven experience
For more than a decade, Remodel Health has helped organizations design personalized ICHRAs and long-term strategies. We understand the financial pressures educational institutions face year over year and know how to craft benefits that support diverse employee populations while keeping current and future costs down.
White-glove support
From plan design to implementation to year-round administration, your higher education institution will receive hands-on support from our dedicated team to help ensure a streamlined ICHRA experience for you and your employees.
Compliance expertise
ICHRA compliance can be complex, especially for larger institutions with multiple employee classes, tax reporting obligations, or employer mandate responsibilities. While many vendors just rely on automation, Remodel Health’s ICHRA+ solution combines technology with licensed team members who provide guidance every step of the way, so you always stay compliant.
Industry leadership in personalized benefits
Remodel Health was one of the first organizations to help employers offer their employees personalized benefit solutions. Today, as the nation’s leading ICHRA vendor, we’ve continued helping schools and universities provide affordable and flexible benefits strategies that their employees will love.
Remodel Health is the largest ICHRA platform:
Members served across all 50 states
Payment accuracy, with premiums paid directly to carriers via AutoPay
Years average client tenure with Remodel Health
STEP 1
Establish your budget and plan details
Our platform will guide you through the ICHRA implementation process. This simplified process ensures the creation of a plan that fits your employees’ needs. Determining your budget, reimbursement levels, and launch date is entirely up to you.
Once you have your employee classes and reimbursement amounts set, it’s time to outline the specifics of your ICHRA plan. This includes details such as the plan start date, the reimbursement process, and any rollover rules for unused funds. You’ll also need to develop a written plan document that outlines the ICHRA terms and conditions for your employees. At Remodel Health, we can simplify this complicated process and help you create a plan that fits your employees’ needs.
You’ll need to decide on the monthly allowance you’ll provide for each employee class. This amount will be used by your employees to purchase individual health insurance policies and cover other qualified healthcare expenses. Remember, there is no maximum limit on employer contributions, but you must establish a cap on annual contributions for each employee class. Remodel Health’s software offers tools and one-on-one customer support to help you manage your ICHRA plan efficiently. We offer AutoPay for employee premiums, no reimbursements required.
Effective communication is crucial when implementing an ICHRA. Be sure to provide your employees with clear, comprehensive information about the ICHRA plan, including their eligibility, reimbursement allowances, and instructions for selecting individual health insurance policies. You’ll also need to give employees a notice of the ICHRA offering at least 90 days before the start of the plan year.
STEP 2
We’ll guide your team through onboarding and enrollment
Getting ICHRA enrollment right is crucial for employers and employees. With Remodel Health, you’ll have expert guidance on this topic and an investment in the well-being of your team.
Start by educating your employees about health insurance basics, including terms like deductibles, copayments, out-of-pocket maximums, and provider networks. It’s also important to take the time to explain the options available to your employees. This should include what each plan covers, what it costs, and any other features. Holding annual reviews can give employees the chance to reconsider their coverage options and make changes if necessary. This is also a good time to remind employees about the benefits and resources available to them.
Any size employer can offer an ICHRA to their employees. From small startups to large corporations, ICHRA provides a flexible and personalized health insurance solution. As far as employee eligibility for ICHRA goes, it depends on two key factors: employee class and individual health insurance coverage. Employers can establish different classes of employees and decide which classes are eligible for ICHRA. Additionally, employees must have individual health insurance coverage that meets the minimum essential coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act.
We will help your employees choose the individual health insurance plan that best suits their needs. Our platform and licensed experts will make this process as seamless as possible.
STEP 3
Enjoy the advantages of ICHRA
Now, your team can experience this unique and flexible approach to healthcare. With ICHRA, you can take advantage of personalized health insurance options, tax advantages, reduced administrative burden, and so much more.
ICHRAs are more than just a health benefits option – they’re a tool for boosting employee satisfaction. Integrating ICHRA into your benefits package can significantly contribute to elevating employee satisfaction. The mix of autonomy, cost-efficiency, simplified healthcare navigation, and a greater sense of appreciation can create a work environment that employees appreciate and enjoy.
While traditional group health insurance has been the go-to for many years, ICHRAs are definitely making their mark in the benefits landscape. With their flexibility, cost control, tax advantages, and personalization, they offer a compelling alternative for employers. Of course, deciding between ICHRAs and traditional group health insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. It’s essential to consider the specific needs of your organization and employees in order to find the best solution for your team.
The personalized plan options allow employees to successfully tailor their health benefits to what works best for their unique situations, which ultimately leads to satisfaction among employees. With an ICHRA, the power of managing health benefits is now in the hands of employees.
Ready to update your school’s health benefits package?
Healthcare benefits don’t have to be confusing or intimidating. If you think the ICHRA is the best option for your school or university to balance affordability, flexibility, and employee choice, Remodel Health is here to help you get started. Our team works with brokers, HR leaders, finance teams, and school administrators to design personalized ICHRA benefits that will fit the unique needs of your educational institution.
Earning accolades in innovation
Our innovative approach to health benefits through ICHRA has been recognized with numerous awards. Check out our accolades below, which serve as a testament to our commitment to revolutionizing health benefits.
