CMS Discusses New CHOICE Health Benefit Arrangements
Take Command CEO Jack Hooper met with CMS officials to discuss the rebranded individual health reimbursement arrangements.
Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Healthcare
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Take Command CEO Jack Hooper met with CMS officials in October 2026 to discuss the administration's rebranding of Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements as CHOICE arrangements. This meeting highlights a significant shift as the U.S. health benefit market moves toward a defined contribution model.
Why it matters
Employers are increasingly seeking to stop managing traditional health plans while maintaining employee benefits. The administration's focus on CHOICE arrangements aims to provide regulatory or statutory enhancements to support this transition.
There are currently over 20,000 U.S. businesses offering ICHRA plans, marking a 53 percent increase from 2025. These plans now cover more than 500,000 lives, even as 54 percent of benefits brokers report having never sold an ICHRA.
The players
Jack Hooper
He is the CEO of Take Command, a company headquartered in Dallas that specializes in health reimbursement arrangements.
CMS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the federal agency responsible for administering health care programs in the United States.
Centene
This is a publicly traded managed care company that has implemented internal ICHRA programs for its workforce.
The details
Brokers are playing a key role in this transition by assisting employers with setting contribution levels over three-to-five-year horizons. They also provide essential service and education to individual employees regarding plan selection and network access, a service model utilized by companies like Centene for their internal programs.
Timeline
The baseline year for the reported 53 percent increase in ICHRA business adoption was 2025.
A survey regarding broker ICHRA sales was conducted in 2026.
Take Command CEO Jack Hooper met with CMS officials in October 2026.
Market Landscape
The transition to CHOICE arrangements signals a broader structural shift in the U.S. health benefit market toward a defined contribution model. This development follows the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement policy and pushes the industry away from traditional employer-managed plans.
Employees may find themselves needing to select their own health plans with the help of brokers as employers shift away from traditional benefit management. This change could alter how workers access networks and manage their monthly healthcare budgets through employer-provided contributions.
The takeaway
The move toward CHOICE arrangements represents a fundamental change in how companies manage employee health benefits. Businesses considering this model should prioritize broker-led education to ensure employees navigate new plan selections effectively.
Further reading
Learn more about the latest trends in the United States Healthcare sector.
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