Reimbursing one employee for health insurance premium?

[SHill2019]

I work at a small company (less than 10 employees) that's a s-corp. We provide group health insurance for our employees and pay $450 towards their premium. However, one employee would like to purchase their own insurance just for 2020 and get reimbursed the $450 pre-tax. I don't think it would be discriminatory because this employee is not highly compensated, not an officer, and is in a department of their own (could classify this benefit based on that?). I've done a lot of research and it sounds like reimbursing one employee is allowable based on IRS notice 2015-17:

"Code § 9831(a)(2) provides that the market reforms do not apply to a group health plan that has fewer than two participants who are current employees on the first day of the plan year. Accordingly, an arrangement covering only a single employee (whether or not that employee is a 2-percent shareholder-employee) generally is not subject to the market reforms whether or not such a reimbursement arrangement otherwise constitutes a group health plan. If an S corporation maintains more than one such arrangement for different employees (whether or not 2-percent shareholder employees), however, all such arrangements are treated as a single arrangement covering more than one employee so that the exception in Code § 9831(a)(2) does not apply. For this purpose, if both a non-2-percent shareholder employee of the S corporation and a 2-percent shareholder employee of the S corporation are receiving reimbursements for individual premiums, the arrangement would be considered a group health plan for more than one current employee."

No other employee would be reimbursed for their health insurance premiums, they're all being covered through the group plan. Based on my research, it doesn't sound like this will get us in any trouble, but I'm concerned I could be missing something. I could really use some input on this.

[leevena]

Based on what you have outlined above, it is illegal.  The key here is the fact that the employer offers a group health plan.  Option could be to up their compensation.