Legislative updates to health benefit accounts

Last year, a spending bill was signed into law that includes several provisions relating to employee health benefit accounts such as health savings accounts, dependent care accounts, and more. Here, we’ve broken down each of the provisions.

Sec. 71306: Telehealth safe harbor for HSAs

Individuals enrolled in HSA-qualified plans that offered telehealth or remote care before meeting the deductible can contribute to an HSA for 2025, regardless of when contributions were made. Telehealth is defined as services payable by Medicare or listed annually by HHS, excluding in-person services, equipment, or drugs unless independently classified as telehealth. 

Sec. 71307: Bronze and Catastrophic plans

As of January 1, 2026, only individual market Bronze and Catastrophic plans qualify for HSA eligibility. This includes plans purchased off-exchange, through employer-sponsored ICHRAs, and those with ACA cost-sharing reductions for American Indians and Alaska Natives. SHOP coverage does not qualify. 

Sec. 71308: Direct primary care service arrangements

The bill set out new rules that allow direct primary care service arrangements to be used in conjunction with an HSA. DPCSAs are now limited to primary care practitioners and must charge fixed, periodic fees not exceeding $150/month for individuals or $300/month for families. Fees above these limits disqualify HSA eligibility during the arrangement. While certain fees can be reimbursed from HSAs under specific timing rules, they cannot count toward deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums, nor be paid by employers or cafeteria plans.

Sec. 70404: Dependent care assistance program limits

Under this provision, the limit on dependent care assistance programs increased from $5,000 to $7,500, and from $2,500 to $3,750 for married individuals filing separately. 

What’s next?

All of these provisions went into effect beginning January 1, 2026, and we will be keeping an eye out for any additional guidance handed down from the IRS. Your friends at Omnify are excited about these changes and are working closely with industry leaders to understand and communicate any effects they have on our clients. We will provide more details on any updates as they become available, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Omnify Relationship Manager.