ICHRA Has a New Name: CHOICE Arrangements
September 3, 2026
Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) are now CHOICE Arrangements.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the new name on Thursday, September 3, 2026, in New Palestine, Indiana, where CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler met with small business owners at Hancock Health to hear directly about the challenges of providing health coverage to employees.
What changes, and what does not
The name is new. The benefit is not.
A CHOICE Arrangement works exactly as an ICHRA has worked since 2020: an employer sets a tax-advantaged monthly contribution, and each employee uses it to purchase an individual health plan that fits their own needs. The 2019 federal rules that created these arrangements remain in place. Employers currently offering an ICHRA, employees enrolled through one, and the brokers and administrators who support them do not need to take any action as a result of the announcement.
While the name is changing, the core value proposition remains the same: increased consumer choice, portability, and a modernized approach to employer-sponsored health benefits. What the new name offers is clarity. “Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement” describes the mechanics. “CHOICE Arrangements” describes the point.
Why Indiana
The setting was not an accident. Indiana was the first state in the nation to enact a tax credit for small employers that provide health benefits through an ICHRA, and the state has become a proving ground for how the arrangement works for employers of every size.
What it means for ICAA
ICAA exists to make this benefit known, understood, and chosen. A clearer name, announced by two federal agencies to a national audience, advances that work. ICAA will be updating its website and providing more information about this exciting news in the days ahead.
CHOICE Arrangements — Employers still fund it. Employees still choose it.
Follow ICAA at www.TheICAA.org and info@TheICAA.org for updates as further details become available.