Priority Debuts Tool to Help Small Businesses Offer Health Insurance

Priority Technology Holdings has a new tool to help businesses with their health coverage.

The payments and banking solutions provider launched its Ambient business for individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) plan payments and administration, according to a Thursday (March 27) press release.

ICHRAs are employer-funded health benefits that let employers reimburse their workers tax-free for individual health insurance premiums and qualified medical expenses, the release said.

“ICHRAs are experiencing rapid growth in the U.S., driven by their flexibility, potential cost savings, and ability to expand health coverage options,” Ambient Chief Operating Officer Jim Mrowka said in the release. “Of particular note, ICHRAs allow many [small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)] to offer health benefits to their employees for the first time: 83% of new ICHRA adopters previously offered no health insurance.”

Ambient lets insurance brokers and third-party administrators (TPAs) build “high margin ICHRA businesses” while allowing SMBs to establish ICHRA plans, according to the release.

These employers can also use Ambient to generate customized plan documents, manage election and substantiation, and streamline payment administration using “an employee-low-touch payments loop,” the release said.

“We’re very pleased to have Ambient in our SMB product lineup,” Priority CEO Tom Priore said in the release. “…ICHRAs are primarily a health benefit, but their structure and flexibility create positive ripple effects for the whole business, from financial management to employee satisfaction.”

The launch of Ambient came as SMBs face increased financial pressures.

Forthcoming research from PYMNTS Intelligence — set to be published in mid-April — shows a lack of financial resilience among these smaller businesses, with less than half saying they have access to financing and working capital solutions.

“This lack of financial flexibility directly correlates with their fears about navigating economic headwinds,” PYMNTS wrote last week.

SMBs without access to financing are less confident about adapting to a changing economy. They are 75% more likely to have no plan to offset any costs arising from the implementation of tariffs.

“This stark reality contributes to a heightened sense of uncertainty, as SMBs lacking financing express less confidence than those that do in their survival over the next two years,” PYMNTS wrote.