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Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)

If you select a HDHP and you are not eligible for an HSA, you will be given an HRA. The health plan will credit a portion of the health plan premium to your account. The amount for either a Self Only enrollment or a Self and Family enrollment will be the same as the amounts that will be deposited in HSAs in the same plan. You can use funds in your account to help pay your health plan deductible and/or qualified medical expenses that do not count toward the deductible. You also can use the account to pay medicare premiums.

Features of an HRA include:

Tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses
Carryover of unused credits, without limit, from year to year
Credits in an HRA do not earn interest
Credits in an HRA are forfeited if you switch health plans, or if you leave federal employment other than to retire
Your HRA is administered by the health plan

A Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) gives you the opportunity to manage your health care expenses in partnership with your employer. Designed to offset the cost of a high-deductible health plan, an HRA is an arrangement where your employer reimburses you for health expenses not covered by your health plan.

How It Works

Every year, your employer puts money aside in an HRA to help you pay for your medical expenses. You pay no taxes on the money, and you manage the account. Throughout the year, you can use the money in your HRA to pay for medical services and supplies that are not covered by your health plan and apply to your deductible.

If you use all of the money in your account, you pay the rest of your deductible out of your pocket. If you have unused money in your HRA at the end of the plan year, some plans allow you to apply the balance to the following year. Lastly, because the funds in your account are owned by your employer, if you leave the company, you typically will forfeit the money in your account.

Please refer to your plan's summary plan description for more information on how your HRA works.