Advanced Reimbursement Checking (ARC) Account Reconciliation

Beginning your Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (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. There are two reconciliation methods that many of our clients have found useful: the one-by-one method and the monthly method.

You may also want read our article describing the available reporting in the Reports tab, and the overview of all the features of the Banking tab. 

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 "Reports" tab.
2. The Active Coverage Summary is the first report listed. Select "View Summary."

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

   1. For example, if it is August 21, change the date to September 1.

   2. Current enrollments will not be included on this report until the enrollment period is closed.

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

5. The monthly total cost (the sum of 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)

7. 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 at a time, or due to the employee's benefitbay® profile not being up to date with the correct insurance premium.

   1. If the premium needs to be updated, please contact our Support team. Our support specialists can work with the employee to update their profile.

8. Each month, you can download the Active Coverage Summary to see employee plan updates, and 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 Banking tab.

2. Select the "Arc Transactions" report on the top right of the screen.

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

   1. For example, enter June 1 and June 30th

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

4. Select the "Export to (.CSV)" button to download the report.

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