Health Care: Preserving Benefits & Expanding Opportunity

Preserving Existing Benefits and Creating New Opportunities

Employer-sponsored health coverage is the backbone of the U.S. health care system. Retailers have long provided their employees with quality health coverage and would like to continue doing so. However, burdensome, costly, and often redundant federal laws and regulations bind employers' hands, making it more difficult to continue providing health coverage, creating jobs, and growing the economy. RILA is committed to working with Congress and federal agencies to ensure that retailers can continue to provide quality, affordable, customized health coverage for their employees.    
 
RILA members are at the forefront of developing innovative approaches, such as telehealth, to encourage preventive health, improve outcomes, and lower health care costs. RILA has been a driving force in opposing modifications to the tax treatment of employer-sponsored coverage to fund a new individual health tax credit.  Leading retailers strongly support employer-sponsored healthcare coverage.

Employer Reporting Requirements:

RILA is the leader in enacting streamlined, commonsense reforms to burdensome and costly ACA employer reporting requirements.  RILA has continually stressed to lawmakers and federal regulators that the Exchange eligibility process and employer reporting requirements should be aligned with tax credit determinations. This would provide more accurate and timely information while lessening the regulatory burden on employers.

Modernization of Consumer-Directed Health Products:

Over the last several years, many RILA member companies have moved away from traditional fee-for-service plan offerings toward a system that couples a health savings account (HSA) with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP).  This transition is guided by retailers’ innovative approach to customizing benefit designs and creating health plans that best meet the needs of their employees and families. However, Congress has not substantially updated HSA laws since 2003. RILA will continue to advocate for modernizing HSAs to provide greater flexibility and value for retail employees.  RILA supports allowing employees to access onsite or retail primary care clinics, pre-deductible coverage for chronic disease management, and opportunities to use HSAs for fitness or wellness activities.