When both employee and employer contribute to FICA, what is the combined contribution rate for the HI portion?

The combined contribution rate for the Health Insurance (HI) portion of FICA, which is used to fund Medicare, is indeed set at 2.9%. However, this rate is split equally between the employee and employer, meaning that each contributes 1.45%. Therefore, when considering the contribution rate by each party, the correct answer indicating the rate per individual is 1.45%.

Understanding the FICA contributions is essential: it consists of two main parts: Social Security and Medicare. While the total contribution rate for Medicare is 2.9%, it's critical to recognize that the answer concerns the rate attributed to each party's contribution, which is 1.45% from both the employee and the employer.

The other choices relate to incorrect percentages that do not apply to the current FICA regulations, as they either underestimate or overestimate the individual contributions toward the HI portion for Medicare.