Committee Hears Support for Tax Credit to Help Small Employers Offer ICRA Health Benefits

The House Ways and Means Committee held a second hearing on House Bill 133, which would create a nonrefundable tax credit for small employers that offer an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICRA) and contribute at least $400 per covered employee.

Kathy (Catherine) Grayson of Oscar Health, speaking for the bill’s proponents, described ICRAs as a defined contribution model that lets employers steer money to employees to shop on the individual market. "Oscar believes that every Ohioan deserves a choice of high quality affordable health care, and we think that this bill goes a long way towards this objective," Grayson said. She told the committee Ohio has roughly 90,000 Oscar members and argued the federal ICRA framework and state tax incentive would increase small‑business uptake.

Cameron Garsick of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said the trade association supports a tax credit for employers with 2 to 50 employees that contributes at least $400 per covered employee and argued that ICRAs can be a viable option where the small‑group market is shrinking. "House Bill 133 would create a non refundable tax credit for businesses with between 2 and 50 employees that offer an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement or ICRA," Garsick said.

Representatives of three platform and broker firms—Marshall Darr (Stretch Dollar), Frank Spinelli (EZICRA/James B. Oswald Companies) and Tom Zano/others—testified that ICRA platforms have enrolled hundreds of employer groups and thousands of employees and provided examples where an individual-market option reduced employee out‑of‑pocket costs and enabled hiring decisions. Marshall Darr described a case in which an employee with multiple specialist needs found a cheaper individual plan that covered her care, saying, "For the first time in 9 years, Jane had the option to decide where she wanted to work." Frank Spinelli said, "This ICRA gives them a sustainable way to continue forward," describing small employers facing steep year‑over‑year small‑group premium increases.

Committee members asked technical questions about program design: Representative Hall asked how the bill defines small employers (witnesses said 2 to 50 employees in the bill text) and whether the $400 contribution and credit level should be altered over time. Representative Troy raised the bill’s possible effect on the uninsured and observed some employees covered by Medicaid could move to employer‑sponsored options if employers adopted ICRAs.

Written testimony and data were provided to the committee, and the sponsors said they view the measure as a pilot or a first step that could be adjusted with experience from states that have adopted similar incentives. The hearing ended with no committee vote recorded.