Advanced Reimbursement Checking (ARC) Account Reconciliation

Installing Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA) for your company can be an exciting time! You are allowing your employees the power to control their health care, removing the stress of selecting the right insurance carrier and options for your entire employee population, and having more control over the cost to the company. One thing the switch can cause is confusion over how to reconcile the ARC Account. Not to worry, there are two reconciliation methods most of our clients have found useful in this endeavor. The one-by-one method and the monthly method.

One-by-One Method

This method is the most time-consuming, however, you can be assured to know the exact monthly cost. You will also quickly be able to identify if the carrier drafted anything different than expected for an employee. Here is how the method works:

1. Login to benefitbay® and navigate to the Employer Home

2. Scroll to the "COVERAGE PERIOD" section and select the blue "GO" button under "Active Coverage Summary"

3. Change the date to the first of the next month. This will help you capture any changes that have occurred such as new enrollments or terminations

   1. ex. August 21, change date to September 1

   2. If there are any current enrollments opened for your company, you will not see those selections until the enrollment is close

4. Select the blue "ACTIVE COVERAGE SUMMARY CSV" button to download a copy, and save the file (we recommend creating an annual workbook for this project- each month you will add columns for the next month)

5. You can format it to your liking, however, the monthly total cost (column O) will be the amount you will need to record monthly

6. At your discretion, you can view ARC transactions and record them in your monthly reconciliation spreadsheet (smaller companies may be able to record transactions once or twice a month, larger companies may need to record transactions daily or weekly)

   1. If an amount drafted from the carrier is different from the expected amount on the "Active Coverage Summary," it could be due to the carrier drafting multiple months or the employee's benefitbay®profile was not updated with the correct insurance premium

   2. If the carrier premium needs to be updated, our support specialists can work with the employee to get their profile updated

7. Each month, you can download the "Active Coverage Summary" (see steps 2-3) to see any employee plan updates, continue recording transactions each month

Monthly Method

This method is similar to how you'd reconcile an account through your bank. It is a faster method, however, some of the granular details missing. If this method works better for your company, don't be considered something will be missed. Our support specialists are continuously reviewing transactions to ensure accuracy and process any necessary changes. Here is how the method works:

1. Login to benefitbay® and navigate to the Employer Home

2. Scroll down to the "BANKING" section and select the blue "VIEW POSTED ARC TRANSACTIONS" button

3. Enter a start date of the first of the month and an end date with the last date of the month and click the blue "SEARCH" button

   1. ex. June 1 and June 30th

   2. This method can only be utilized after the completion of the month

4. Select the blue "EXPORT TO CSV" button to download

5. Add all the total premium amounts (column F)

   1. If there are any amounts that were "resolved" (returned to the account), you should subtract those from the amount

6. Subtract this amount from the amount that was deposited to fund the account and you will have your ending current balance for the month

   1. Keep this amount in order to reconcile the next month

      1. The next month, add the deposit, then follow steps 1-5 and subtract the amount from the current balance continue each month

There is no "right or wrong" way to reconcile your company's ARC Account. It is important that your company feels confident in all management of the ICHRA!