Questions this page answers
Use this method to calculate supported administrator fees, identify missing terms and see when a changed assumption reverses the comparison.
What does the ICHRA administrator fee worksheet calculate?
The ICHRA Report worksheet calculates modeled administrator service fees for a constant workforce and rates over 1–12 whole months. It uses the quote's confirmed billing population, monthly fees, minimums, setup and other period charges. It does not calculate insurance premiums, actual reimbursements, affordability or service quality. A completed total means the supported fee inputs were supplied, not that the provider or contract was independently verified.
Evidence: Method inputs, equations and limits.
Enter your own written fees in the worksheet: A local calculation under the supported billing rules.
What happens when an ICHRA quote leaves a fee or billing population unspecified?
The ICHRA Report worksheet leaves that quote incomplete. A blank fee is unknown, while an explicitly confirmed zero is a usable input. Confirm whether the provider bills eligible employees or enrolled participants, and ask about extra accounts and minimum charges. Quotes with tiered rates, changing populations or other unsupported rules need a different cost illustration; filling every box does not make those rules fit this method.
Evidence: Missing-input and unsupported-rule handling.
Ask the administrator to define the billing terms: Who is charged, what minimums apply and which amounts remain unconfirmed.
Can one additional ICHRA participant change which administrator quote has lower fees?
Yes, under some terms. In ICHRA Report's fictional example, 20 eligible employees and 12 months are held constant. At 12 participants, modeled fees are $4,540.00 for quote A and $4,800.00 for quote B. At 13 participants throughout the period, A becomes $4,840.00 and B stays $4,800.00. All amounts are USD administrator fees. A bills enrolled participants; B bills eligible employees. The lower-fee quote reverses under these assumptions. These are invented examples, not real provider quotes or a quality ranking.
Evidence: Shared calculation and both fictional scenarios.
Inspect why the enrollment change reverses the fees: The conditions behind the result and why it cannot be reused for different contracts.
What this helps you decide
Work out the administrator service fees you would pay under each proposal, then identify which missing terms or assumptions could change the comparison. Start with your own written proposals; the example below is fictional.
When this method fits
- You are an employer or broker comparing administrator proposals, rather than shopping for an employee's insurance policy.
- The proposal charges a fixed monthly amount, a monthly rate for either eligible employees or enrolled participants, or both. It may also specify minimum paid seats, extra billable accounts, a monthly fee minimum, setup fees and other charges for the period.
- The employee counts and rates stay constant for the same 1–12 whole months in each scenario. Use US dollars. If a contract needs a different calculation, ask for a written cost illustration using its actual terms.
Start with the terms in your proposals
- Choose one comparison period and count eligible employees. Separately estimate how many will enroll. Use these same assumptions across the proposals.
- Confirm who each administrator bills: all eligible employees or only enrolled participants. Ask whether administrator accounts or other people are billed in addition, and avoid counting an account twice.
- Record the fixed monthly fee, monthly rate per billable person, minimum paid seats, additional billable accounts, minimum monthly fee, setup fee and other fees for the entire period. Keep the proposal reference beside each term. Enter zero only when no charge is confirmed; a blank means unknown.
- Calculate each proposal with the equations below. A minimum number of seats and a minimum monthly fee are separate contract terms; neither should be substituted for the other.
- Compare the included services, effective dates and unresolved terms before drawing a conclusion. Repeat the calculation with another plausible enrollment count if your estimate is uncertain.
How the calculation works
Choose the employee population specified by the quote: eligible or enrolled. Calculate these three amounts in order. The worksheet accepts dollars, converts them to whole cents for arithmetic, then displays dollars.
In these equations, max means use whichever amount is larger. For example, a three-seat minimum means you pay for at least three seats even if only one employee enrolls.
- billable seats = max(minimum paid seats, selected employee population + additional accounts)
- monthly fee = max(monthly minimum, fixed monthly fee + per-person monthly rate × billable seats)
- period total = monthly fee × months + setup + other period fees
Changing only enrollment changes which fictional proposal has lower fees. Quote A bills enrolled participants; quote B bills eligible employees. The values are generated by the same calculation used in the worksheet. They include the example setup and period fees, exclude insurance premiums and reimbursements, and do not establish a provider recommendation.
Check the fictional inputs, results and calculation versionA worked example with fictional quotes
These prices are invented for the example. They are not offers from real administrators. The workforce has 20 eligible employees, with 12 expected to enroll, over 12 months. Zero means a confirmed zero within this fictional scenario.
| Term | Fictional quote A | Fictional quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Billing population | Enrolled participants | Eligible employees |
| Fixed monthly fee | $50.00 | $0.00 |
| Monthly fee per billable person | $25.00 | $20.00 |
| Minimum paid seats | 3 | 0 |
| Additional billable accounts | 0 | 0 |
| Minimum monthly fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Setup fee | $100.00 | $0.00 |
| Other period fees | $240.00 | $0.00 |
| Result | Fictional quote A | Fictional quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Billable seats | 12 | 20 |
| Monthly administrator fees | $350.00 | $400.00 |
| Fees over 12 months, including setup and other period fees | $4,540.00 | $4,800.00 |
At 12 participants, fictional quote A has $260.00 lower modeled administrator fees. This conclusion applies only to the terms and period shown.
One additional participant changes the comparison
Keep all other terms the same and change enrollment to 13 for every month. Quote A bills enrolled participants, so its fees rise. Quote B bills the same eligible workforce, so its fees stay the same.
| Result | Fictional quote A | Fictional quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Billable seats | 13 | 20 |
| Monthly administrator fees | $375.00 | $400.00 |
| Fees over 12 months, including setup and other period fees | $4,840.00 | $4,800.00 |
At 13 participants, fictional quote B has $40.00 lower modeled administrator fees. This conclusion applies only to the terms and period shown.
If enrollment might be 12 or 13, keep both results. The lower-fee proposal changes between those counts. That makes the enrollment estimate material to the decision; it does not establish an overall provider winner.
What to do when information is missing or does not fit
The quote says 'per employee' without defining who is charged. Ask: Does the rate apply to eligible employees, enrolled participants, or another population? Are administrator accounts billed separately? Confirm the answer before calculating.
A fee field is blank, or the proposal does not explain a minimum or setup fee. Ask for the complete fee schedule and whether that specific charge is zero. Do not fill the gap with zero.
The quote uses tiered rates, mid-month changes or another rule this calculation cannot represent. Request a cost illustration for the same workforce and period using the actual contract rules. This method cannot establish a comparable total for that quote.
The inputs have more participants than eligible employees, fractional people, negative fees or a period outside 1–12 whole months. Correct the inconsistent input or use a method that supports the intended scenario. An invalid input does not produce a usable total.
What this total leaves out
- Changing populations or fees
- Tiered rates
- Proration or partial months
- Taxes
- Unmodeled discounts
- Internal HR costs
- Insurance premiums
- Actual reimbursements
- Service-quality rankings
An employer contribution allowance is a separate spending limit. It does not tell you actual reimbursements or insurance premiums and is not added to these administrator fees as a claim of total employer cost.
Keep a result you can check
- Keep the eligible and enrolled counts, comparison period, quoted terms, proposal references and any assumptions with the result.
- Keep the method and calculation versions. The worksheet's CSV download includes the numeric inputs, modeled totals, formula and version. Add your private proposal references and unresolved service differences to your own copy; they are not collected by this site.
- If a term or estimate changes, save a new result so you can explain why the comparison changed.
- Lower modeled administrator fees do not establish lower total benefit spending or better service. Compare coverage, reimbursement spending, support and implementation separately.
Use the method and check the surrounding evidence
- Use the administrator fee worksheet: Enter your own terms, test a different enrollment count and download a local CSV result.
- Compare the full administrator proposals: Check service scope, responsibilities and the questions that a fee total cannot settle.
- Read the dated public pricing audit: See what six brands disclosed on the inspected public pages. This is not a live quote or the source of the fictional prices above.
Method details and reusable copies
Method version 1.0.0; calculation version 1.0.0. Method reviewed 2026-09-13. This date describes our method review, not a new check of provider pricing or government guidance.
The reader page and Markdown copy are generated from the same content. The worked examples use the same calculation as the worksheet. The structured record describes the inputs, missing-information states and examples; it is a local ICHRA Report format.
- Read the same method as Markdown: A text copy of this explanation, including its tables and limits.
- Download the structured method record: Input definitions, examples, versions and calculation identity.
- Browse the public resource catalog: Find related reader resources and their recorded evidence scope.