Employer interest in Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements has plateaued well short of the shift benefits consultants once predicted, according to a 2026 survey chartbook from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Morgan Health, published July 28. One in three businesses offering health benefits say they are likely to adopt an ICHRA within two years, but adoption is concentrated: employers with 100 or more workers show the greatest interest, with 62% likely to adopt in that window, and mid sized businesses (500 to 9,999 employees) report the highest familiarity and adoption likelihood.
The stall points are consistent across company size: concerns about the stability and pricing of the individual insurance marketplace, and a perception that employees still prefer traditional group coverage. Among small businesses that do not currently offer health benefits at all, one in four would prefer an ICHRA over a group plan if they started one, yet 55% of that group is not even aware the option exists.
The original signal in the data: adoption looks less like a product decision than a confidence decision. EBRI and Morgan Health found 85% of employers would move to an ICHRA model if guaranteed the same network quality and plan choice group plans offer today, and majorities said broker recommendations (77%) and peer adoption (76%) would meaningfully influence their timeline. The ceiling on ICHRA adoption is not employer appetite, already present for a third of the market, it is marketplace stability and social proof. As HRTech Edition covered in reporting on the Department of Labor’s push to modernize health plan disclosure, benefits administration is already mid overhaul on the regulatory side, and ICHRA adoption is likely to track that broader shift rather than move on its own.
Source: EBRI
