The Four Stages A Brokerage Moves Through Before CHOICE (ICHRA) Becomes Routine

For many brokers, the CHOICE Arrangement, also known as ICHRA, does not become familiar all at once. Confidence develops over time: first by introducing the option, then by learning through a real opportunity, completing a successful placement, and ultimately making CHOICE a standard part of the brokerage’s annual renewal strategy.

Chris Poucher is Vice President of Sales at SureCo, and has seen that progression firsthand. Before joining SureCo, he worked at Paylocity, where relationship-building and one-to-one sales conversations were central to the process.

“Sales cycles in payroll are still very heavy one-to-one, just like we are with our renewals,” he says.

But health benefits introduce a different level of responsibility. “In payroll you’re really selling a technology. We sell technology as well, but we also have to deal with the health of people’s employees, and that’s a whole different ball game. Going to the doctor and making sure they’re getting the right care and coverage is very important.”

That responsibility shapes the four stages that brokers and brokerages move through before CHOICE becomes routine.

Introduce CHOICE

CHOICE is increasingly becoming part of the healthcare benefits conversation. According to SureCo’s 2026 State of ICHRA report, 56% of brokers are now actively recommending or implementing it. For brokers who are still becoming familiar with the model, adoption starts by introducing it as one that complements the strategies clients consider, not waiting until a difficult renewal forces the conversation.

Poucher also believes the way the industry describes the model could make it sound more disruptive than it is. “ICHRA has been described as a disruptor in the industry, and I view it as more of just a new option that companies have. It’s a different way than they’ve ever done healthcare benefits before, but it’s just another way a company can administer benefits and give more choices to their employees.”

For brokers and consultants, the opportunity is to approach CHOICE proactively and consider it alongside the other funding strategies reviewed during renewals.

Learn Through a Real Opportunity

Education gives brokers the foundation to begin talking about CHOICE, but working through an actual opportunity builds a deeper understanding of how it affects an employer and its employees.

“There’s a lot of things our prospective clients have to know, but if there’s one thing they need to know, it’s that ICHRA is nuanced,” Poucher says.

The nuance comes from moving away from a benefits model in which the employer selects one plan or a small set of plans for the workforce. With CHOICE, employees choose individual coverage based on their own health needs, budgets and preferences.

“It’s important to recognize that the impact varies across the organization because each and every employee has different needs,” he says.

For brokers, this creates an opportunity to prepare employers for a different kind of benefits experience. Success is not measured by each and every employee selecting the same coverage. It is measured by whether employees have the information and the support needed to make an informed choice for themselves and their families.

That support shapes the broker relationship too: 95% of brokers with clients on CHOICE say the quality of employee education and support from their administrator directly affects their satisfaction with the partnership, according to the same report.

Complete the First Successful Adoption

Understanding CHOICE is important, but confidence grows when a broker guides a client through the process with the right partner and the proper support required to make important healthcare decisions.

“Once we work through that first opportunity together, brokers begin to see us as a partner in the process, not just another vendor,” Poucher says.

Brokers have spent years building trust across client relationships. A successful first adoption enables them to see firsthand how the administrator supports the employer, employees and broker throughout the transition.

That experience also shows brokers how employees respond when given more control over their health coverage. More control does not mean employees are left to make decisions without support. An analysis of approximately 20,000 active SureCo members in the 2026 State of ICHRA Report found that 85% of employees researched their plan options and scrolled through an average of 31 plans before making a decision.

“As members become more experienced with ICHRA, their engagement deepens.”
SureCo, 2026 State of ICHRA Report

Returning members spent 13% more time on the platform than they did the previous year, and 84% selected a different plan. Of those who switched, 71% stayed with the same carrier, suggesting that employees were refining their coverage based on their healthcare needs rather than starting over.

Make CHOICE Part of the Brokerage’s Routine

After a successful adoption, CHOICE becomes easier to introduce again. Brokers have a real experience to draw from, a clearer understanding of the process and greater confidence in the partner supporting them.

Adoption may begin with one broker, but momentum grows when knowledge and experience are shared across the brokerage.

“Our biggest success areas are brokerages that know us, trust us, and can confidently put us in front of their clients and treat it as part of every renewal,” he says.

At that point, CHOICE is no longer viewed only as a solution for a difficult renewal. It becomes an ingrained strategy for client success, where the brokerage understands, evaluates, and utilizes it as part of their client service portfolio.

The administrator’s role is to help brokers move through each stage with the knowledge and support they need. Poucher describes the work as optimizing the expertise required to serve larger employers at scale.

“[SureCo] is a team that understands how to support large employers at scale and can help set a higher standard for the overall ICHRA experience,” he says.

The goal is not to pressure every client into CHOICE. It is to ensure brokers have the knowledge and understanding of the model, know when to explore it, and have a trusted partner ready when the right opportunity arises.

“Our goal is to keep improving how we think about, communicate, and deliver ICHRA so we can provide the best possible overall experience for brokers and their clients.”

For brokers, the practical version is simpler: introduce it before a renewal forces the conversation, and let the first successful placement do the rest.

Source: SureCo, 2026 State of ICHRA Report