Take Command administers health benefits for more than 8,000 employers and 100,000+ eligible employees through CHOICE Arrangements, formerly known as Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs), and other HRAs. Instead of offering one group plan, businesses can reimburse employees for their own health insurance and medical expenses tax-free.
The ICHRA model requires a different approach to moving money than a traditional group health plan. Each eligible employee can select a qualified individual plan, from any insurance carrier of their choice while the employer contributes a defined allowance toward the premium. Take Command coordinates employer funding, any employee contribution above that allowance, and recurring premium payments across employees, plans, and carriers, while keeping each payment tied to the right benefit.
Unit provides the financial infrastructure behind this process, giving Take Command the account structure and payment capabilities to keep funds and transactions tied to the right employer, employee, and plan benefit.
Choosing infrastructure for the ICHRA model
As transaction volume grew, Take Command needed more visibility and control over the financial workflows behind its benefits product.
Its operations team needed to see payment status and related account activity, and trace the movement of funds across transactions, particularly if issues arose. Without that information in one place, reconciliation and issue resolution required more manual work as volume grew. Take Command also needed faster processing and account structures that could support different client setups.
When evaluating providers, the team considered both product capabilities and the day-to-day work required to run the program. Its priorities included:
- Multiple accounts per employer for smooth reconciliation
- Detailed transaction and account data
- Support for growing payment volume and faster processing
- KYC, KYB, AML, and OFAC workflows and controls
- Flexible bank relationships
- Economics aligned with deposits and interchange
Take Command chose Unit because it could support the account and payment structure its operating model required. With Unit’s Platform, Take Command can inspect transaction activity, manage account-level workflows, and apply payment controls, while using Unit’s compliance infrastructure.
How Take Command runs payments on Unit
Today, Take Command uses Unit's platform to create and manage accounts, fund benefit disbursements, and support automated insurance premium payments. Unit’s APIs connect these capabilities directly to Take Command’s benefits product.
Unit’s account structures and ACH payment controls give Take Command the flexibility to support different employer setups while keeping transactions tied to the right employer and employee. Detailed account and transaction data gives the team visibility into recurring premium payments across carriers, making it easier to monitor activity and investigate issues.
Because these workflows run programmatically, Take Command can apply consistent processes across thousands of premium payments and new accounts. As more employers and employees join, the team can expand its payment operations without creating a separate process for every new account.
With Unit, we’ve been able to scale the product without proportionally scaling headcount. Unit’s API gives us detailed transaction and account data, which has reduced the manual effort required to reconcile payments and helped us resolve issues much faster.
Allison Jackson, Director of Insurance Operations, Take Command
Build on financial infrastructure that scales
Financial products need more than accounts and payment methods. Teams need account structures that fit their product, along with the data and controls to understand what is happening and resolve issues as volume grows.
For healthcare payment models like Take Command’s, that infrastructure can include programmable accounts and payments, supported by detailed financial data and compliance infrastructure. Teams can build on that same foundation as transaction volume grows and their financial workflows evolve.
Talk to Unit about building on enterprise-grade financial infrastructure designed to scale with your business.
*Take Command is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by TransPecos Bank, Member FDIC. Unit Finance Inc. is a financial technology company and not a bank. Unit provides technology infrastructure and platform services to support account and payment workflows. Take Command’s health benefit products, reimbursement arrangements, tax treatment, eligibility, and plan administration are subject to applicable plan terms, legal and tax requirements, and Take Command’s program design.
