ICHRA · Greenville & the Upstate · South Carolina
A CHOICE Arrangement (formerly called an ICHRA, or Individual Coverage HRA) lets your business give each employee a fixed, tax-free monthly allowance for health insurance. Employees choose their own individual plan. You get a predictable cost that never rises unless you raise it. Poston Health sets up ICHRAs for South Carolina employers and helps every employee enroll.
An ICHRA replaces a group health plan, or gives a team too small for one a way to offer health benefits. Employees buy individual health insurance on or off the Marketplace and get reimbursed up to your allowance.
With an ICHRA your cost is the allowance you set. If premiums rise, you decide whether to raise it.
Our group plans start at 5 employees. An ICHRA has no minimum, so even a 2- or 3-person team can offer real health benefits.
Part-timers, remote staff or employees in other counties each get a plan that works where they live and see doctors.
A 26-year-old and a 60-year-old rarely want the same plan. With an ICHRA, each picks what fits.
Start with a modest allowance and grow it. It’s a simple way to compete for hires without a big commitment.
Older employees on Medicare can often use the allowance toward their Medicare premiums.
Here’s what an ICHRA could look like for a 12-person Greer business with employees from 23 to 61. The owner sets age-based allowances of $450 (under 30), $550 (30s), $650 (40s) and $950 (50 and over) a month. Premiums are actual 2026 prices for Greenville County.
| Employee age | Lowest-cost Bronze | Lowest-cost Silver | Monthly allowance | Employee pays for Silver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | $312 | $462 | $450 | $12 |
| 27 | $327 | $484 | $450 | $34 |
| 29 | $349 | $517 | $450 | $67 |
| 33 | $374 | $553 | $550 | $3 |
| 36 | $384 | $568 | $550 | $18 |
| 38 | $389 | $575 | $550 | $25 |
| 42 | $413 | $612 | $650 | $0 |
| 45 | $451 | $667 | $650 | $17 |
| 49 | $532 | $788 | $650 | $138 |
| 53 | $637 | $942 | $950 | $0 |
| 57 | $761 | $1,126 | $950 | $176 |
| 61 | $877 | $1,298 | $950 | $348 |
| Total | $7,800/mo |
The result: the business spends a fixed $93,600 a year. Every employee can get a Bronze plan for $0 (12 of 12 fully covered), and the typical employee pays about $25 a month for a Silver plan. Because the allowance isn’t taxed as wages, the business also avoids about $7,160 in payroll taxes compared with paying the same money as a raise.
Premiums: lowest-cost Bronze and Silver plans, self-only, non-tobacco, Greenville County (Rating Area 23), from the CMS 2026 Rate Public Use File. 2027 prices are released November 1. Illustration only, not a quote.
Try your own numbers. Change the ages, pick a flat allowance or age tiers, and see what each employee’s plan would cost them after your contribution.
Enter your employees' ages and a budget. We'll show what that allowance buys on 2026 Greenville County individual plans.
| Age | Allowance | Plan premium | Employee pays |
|---|
Estimates use 2026 self-only, non-tobacco premiums for Greenville County (CMS Rate Public Use File). 2027 premiums appear when open enrollment begins November 1. Employees living in other counties see different prices. Payroll-tax figure is the employer's 7.65% FICA share only. This is an illustration, not a quote or tax advice.
| ICHRA (CHOICE Arrangement) | Traditional group plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Your cost | Fixed allowance you choose | Set premium each year, can change at renewal |
| Plan choice | Each employee picks their own plan | One plan (or a few) for everyone |
| Business size | No minimum | Our group plans start at 5 employees |
| Networks | Employees choose a network where they live | One network for the whole team |
| Taxes | Allowance is tax-free; no payroll tax | Premiums paid pre-tax |
| Start date | First of any month, after a 90-day notice | Usually first of any month |
| Best fit | Cost control, mixed or spread-out teams, small teams | Teams that want one shared plan and network |
Not sure which is right? We quote both. See our group health and employee benefits options.
Thinking about 2027? Because of the 90-day notice rule, an existing business that starts now is usually looking at a February 1, March 1 or April 1, 2027 start. A February 1 start means notices go out by about November 3. Individual plans for 2027 go on sale November 1.
Sources: 26 CFR 54.9802-4; U.S. Department of Labor ICHRA model notice; IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26; CMS CHOICE Arrangements. Updated October 2026. Not tax or legal advice.
With an ICHRA, each employee buys a plan where they live, so prices depend on their county. This table shows the lowest-cost Silver plan for one person (non-tobacco) in each Upstate county for 2026, plus how many plans and carriers employees can choose from.
| County | Plans | Carriers | Age 27 | Age 40 | Age 50 | Age 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | 48 | Ambetter, BlueCross SC, First Choice Next | $484 | $590 | $825 | $1,253 |
| Spartanburg | 44 | Ambetter, BlueCross SC, First Choice Next, InStil | $525 | $641 | $895 | $1,361 |
| Anderson | 39 | Ambetter, BlueCross SC, First Choice Next | $543 | $662 | $925 | $1,405 |
| Pickens | 48 | Ambetter, BlueCross SC, First Choice Next | $479 | $584 | $816 | $1,240 |
| Oconee | 40 | Ambetter, BlueCross SC | $451 | $550 | $768 | $1,167 |
| Laurens | 65 | Ambetter, BlueCross SC, First Choice Next, UnitedHealthcare | $477 | $582 | $813 | $1,235 |
| Cherokee | 68 | Ambetter, BlueCross SC, First Choice Next, Molina, UnitedHealthcare | $525 | $641 | $895 | $1,361 |
In Greenville County, a 40-year-old’s lowest-cost Bronze plan is $399 a month and Silver is $590. Spartanburg and Anderson County prices run higher, so an allowance that fully covers a Greenville employee may leave a Spartanburg employee with a small share. We plan allowances around where your team actually lives.
Networks matter as much as price. Some of the lowest-cost plans use narrower networks, so we check each employee’s doctors and hospital, such as Prisma Health, Bon Secours St. Francis, Spartanburg Regional or AnMed, before they enroll. 2027 plans and prices are released November 1.
Source: CMS 2026 Rate, Plan Attributes and Service Area Public Use Files (individual market, self-only, non-tobacco, before any premium tax credit). Plan counts include Bronze, Silver and Gold plans. Illustration only, not a quote.
Dave handles your quote, setup, employee enrollment and every renewal. No call center, no handoffs between departments. Meet us at 4115 E North St in Greenville.
A 3-person shop gets the same one-on-one help as a 40-person company, not a login to self-serve software.
We work in the South Carolina individual market every day, so we can help each employee find a plan that keeps their doctors.
Including employees 65 and over. We’re Medicare specialists too, so no one gets sent somewhere else.
63 five-star Google reviews from Upstate families and business owners.
We quote ICHRAs and traditional group plans, so our advice isn’t tied to one answer.
Whoever you choose to set up your ICHRA, get clear answers to these before you sign.
| Ask this | Why it matters | How Poston Health does it |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers when an employee calls with a question? | Employees need help choosing plans and fixing billing or ID-card problems. | Your employees call our Greenville office and talk to the same people every time. |
| Is my contact local, and will it be the same person next year? | Handoffs between teams are where details get lost. | Dave is your contact from the first quote through every renewal. |
| Who pays the insurance company each month? | If employees pay up front and wait to be reimbursed, the benefit feels like a hassle. | Premiums are paid through the administration platform, so employees aren’t out of pocket. |
| Who helps at renewal? | Plans and prices change every year, and allowances may need adjusting. | We review allowances and re-shop every employee’s plan each fall. |
| Who helps employees turning 65? | Medicare timing mistakes can mean gaps in coverage or lifelong penalties. | Our Medicare team handles it in the same office. |
| Can you also quote a group plan? | An adviser who only sells one option can’t tell you which is better. | Yes. We quote ICHRAs and group health plans side by side. |
We work with both ICHRAs and traditional group plans, so we’ll show you the numbers for each and let you decide.
OWNER | GROUP BENEFITS SPECIALIST
Dave has worked in group benefits since 2011. He helps Greenville-area employers design benefits packages, run open enrollment and keep renewals under control, and he stays your direct point of contact from the first quote through every renewal.
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“I’m so thankful for David Poston’s guidance when my husband lost his health and dental benefits at work earlier this year. … He took time to listen, shared personalized options, and walked us through the entire process.”
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An Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) lets a business give employees a set monthly allowance for health insurance instead of offering one group plan. Each employee picks an individual plan, and the business reimburses premiums up to the allowance, tax-free.
Yes. In September 2026, CMS and the Small Business Administration started calling ICHRAs “CHOICE Arrangements” (Custom Health Option and Individual Care Expense). It’s a new name only. The 2019 ICHRA rules still apply.
Yes. ICHRAs are a federal option, so any South Carolina employer can offer one. In Greenville County, employees can choose 2026 individual plans from BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Ambetter from Absolute Total Care and First Choice Next.
There’s no minimum. An ICHRA can work for a business with just a few W-2 employees, which makes it an option for teams too small for a group plan. Some owners, such as sole proprietors, partners and more-than-2% S corporation shareholders, can’t reimburse themselves through it.
You decide. You set the monthly allowance, and your cost can’t go above it, even if premiums rise. In our Greer example, age-based allowances for 12 employees cost $93,600 a year and fully cover a Bronze plan for 12 of them.
Yes. Reimbursements for individual health insurance premiums (and other qualified medical expenses, if you allow them) aren’t taxable income to the employee, and the business doesn’t pay payroll taxes on them. Employees must have qualifying individual coverage or Medicare, and the business must verify it.
Yes, by class. You can set different allowances for classes such as full-time, part-time, seasonal or employees in different locations. Within a class, amounts can rise with age (the oldest can get up to 3 times the youngest) and with family size.
Yes, but not to the same class of employees. For example, salaried staff could keep a group plan while hourly staff get an ICHRA. Extra minimum class-size rules apply when you mix the two.
Not with the way we set it up. The administration platform we use can pay premiums directly or through a benefits card, so employees aren’t out of pocket each month.
On the first of any month. Employees must get a written notice at least 90 days before the plan year starts. New businesses less than 120 days old can give it by the start date. Starting the conversation now, February 1, March 1 or April 1, 2027 is a realistic start date.
Businesses with 50 or more full-time employees must offer coverage that’s affordable. For 2027, an ICHRA counts as affordable if the employee’s cost for the lowest-cost Silver plan in their area, after the allowance, is no more than 10.22% of their household income. IRS safe harbors let you use wages instead. We run this test for you.
In many cases, yes. Employees enrolled in Medicare can use the allowance toward Medicare premiums, and our Medicare team can help them choose coverage. Extra rules apply to Medicare-eligible employees at businesses with 20 or more employees.
Employees can opt out each year. That matters for employees who’d rather use a premium tax credit when your allowance isn’t affordable for them. Employees covered only through a spouse’s group plan can’t use the ICHRA, because it requires individual coverage or Medicare.
Yes. That’s where a local agent makes the biggest difference. We help each employee compare plans against their doctors and prescriptions and enroll, by phone, online or in person in Greenville.
Tell us a little about your team. Dave will build a side-by-side comparison of an ICHRA and a traditional group plan using real 2027 prices, then walk you through it in about 20 minutes, by phone, online or at our Greenville office.
