Healthier Workforce
Comparison

EHP (SIMERP) vs. Oasis Plan.

Multiple Oasis-branded Section 125 wellness products exist in the preventative care category. This page covers the structural questions that apply to any of them - and the differences vs. a SIMERP-structured plan.

How this comparison is framed. This page describes Oasis Plan based on its publicly available marketing materials. We have not audited Oasis Plan's plan documents and we are not affiliated with the product. The structural questions below are what any prospective buyer should verify with the Oasis Plan sales team directly before making a decision. This is not legal, tax, or audit advice - always consult your own counsel.
01

What Oasis Plan is, per public materials

Oasis-branded preventative care and wellness plans are publicly marketed as Section 125-based programs that deliver employer FICA savings and employee benefits with no out-of-pocket cost. Publicly available materials describe these products as combining indemnity-based wellness payments with Section 125 cafeteria-plan elections. We are not affiliated with any Oasis-branded plan and have not audited their plan documents - the structural description here is based on publicly available marketing materials.

02

Side-by-side, structurally

AspectEHP (SIMERP)Oasis Plan
Tax structure (public description)Section 125 + 105(b) reimbursement of incurred 213(d) expenses (SIMERP)Section 125 + indemnity-based wellness payment (per public materials)
Payment triggerActually-incurred Section 213(d) qualified medical expenseFixed payment on event participation
Relationship to IRS CCM 202323006Outside the scope of the memoWithin the scope of the memo if structured as publicly described
Healthcare deliveryIntegrated telehealth network operated by EHP / RevivePer public materials, varies by Oasis-branded variant
Plan document typeSelf-insured medical expense reimbursement planPer public materials, insurance-policy + Section 125 combination

Oasis Plan column is based on publicly available marketing materials. Verify against the actual plan document before relying on this characterization.

03

Questions to ask the Oasis Plan sales team

  • Which specific Oasis-branded product am I being offered, and is it structured as a SIMERP or as a Section 125 indemnity wellness plan?
  • How does the specific Oasis product reconcile its tax treatment with IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum 202323006?
  • Can I see the plan document and SPD before signing?
  • Is there an indemnification or hold-harmless provision for the employer if the IRS challenges the structure?
  • What documentation supports the tax-free treatment of payments - per-expense incurred, or per-event participated in?

A vendor that can answer all of these questions in writing - with reference to the actual plan document and to IRS guidance - is a vendor worth taking seriously.

04

Where IRS CCM 202323006 fits

In 2023, the IRS Chief Counsel published Memorandum 202323006, which addressed fixed-indemnity wellness plans funded through Section 125 cafeteria-plan elections. The memo concluded that fixed-indemnity payments to employees under those structures should be treated as taxable wages - meaning the structure does not deliver the tax savings vendors had advertised.

The memo applies to fixed-indemnity-structured products. It does not apply to SIMERPs, which reimburse employees for actually-incurred Section 213(d) qualified medical expenses. The EHP program is structured as a SIMERP and is outside the scope of the memo. Whether Oasis Plan falls within the memo's scope depends on its actual plan structure.

Read more about CCM 202323006 in the glossary →

05

When Oasis Plan might actually be the right choice

If you've already vetted a specific Oasis-branded product with your benefits counsel and concluded the structural posture is acceptable for your situation, that's a defensible choice. The honest answer for most prospective buyers is to confirm the structure (SIMERP vs indemnity) before evaluating headline savings claims.

06

Common questions

No - there are multiple Oasis-branded preventative care and wellness products in market from different vendors. Treat each as a distinct product and verify its specific structure separately.

'Does this plan reimburse me for an incurred Section 213(d) qualified medical expense, or does it pay a fixed dollar amount on a trigger event?' Reimbursement-of-incurred is a SIMERP. Fixed-payment-on-trigger is an indemnity structure within the scope of CCM 202323006.

The headline employer FICA savings figure will look similar across products because all of them use the Section 125 pre-tax election as the savings mechanism. The downstream tax treatment of the employee payment - and therefore whether the savings hold up at audit - depends on the structure.

Trademark notice. Oasis Plan is the trademark or trade name of its respective owner. We use the name nominatively to identify the product being compared. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise connected to Oasis Plan or its operators.

Affiliate disclosure. We are an independent affiliate of EHP / Revive Health and earn a referral fee when employers we introduce enroll. This page is not legal advice, tax advice, or audit advice. Always consult your own benefits counsel, CPA, and (where appropriate) labor counsel before adopting or replacing any benefits program.

Want a structural review?

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If you're already evaluating Oasis Plan or a similar product, we can walk through the structural questions on a 30-minute call so you know what to verify before signing.