Premium Reimbursement Account

[bcspace]

Can an employee elect coverage for their spouse and/or dependents but not themselves? I'm specifically referring to a Premium Reimbursement Account. The employee would like to go on a Medicare Advantage plan but that leaves the spouse, a nonemployee, to buy her own insurance and that privately purchased insurance for her is what is desired to be covered under the PRA.

A slightly different angle on the same case and second question: What if the company's insurance provider is willing to write a policy for the spouse only. Can this premium be covered pretax through the employee's paycheck?

[bcspace]

Perhaps I could simplify this. Is there anything wrong with providing a benefit that covers only a spouse or dependent and not the employee?

One might look at claims for a Medical FSA. All the claims could be for a spouse or dependent only, but there's the implication of coverage for the ee if the ee wanted to submit a claim for himself. In the cases I'm referring to, insurance or PRA, there would be no such implications.

Okay, here's another thought. What if a company offers a PRA but the employee privately buys his own insurance and the spouse buys her own separate insurance from another provider. Could both premiums be rolled into the same PRA election?