Sponsors (3)
The bill protects HSA eligibility and promotes telehealth access by allowing waived telehealth deductibles while trading off higher plan costs and a risk that more services will be carved out of deductibles, which could raise overall health spending.
HSA holders and people enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) can use telehealth services with waived deductibles without losing HSA contribution eligibility, preserving tax-advantaged savings and continuity of coverage for middle-class families and patients with chronic conditions.
Employees and plan members gain broader access to no-deductible telehealth services because plan sponsors can offer such benefits without jeopardizing employees' ability to contribute to HSAs, encouraging remote care use.
Clarifying the statutory cross-reference reduces legal uncertainty for employers, insurers, and hospitals, simplifying plan design and administration and lowering compliance burden for plan sponsors and advisers.
The safe-harbor for waived telehealth deductibles may encourage plans to carve out more services from deductibles, weakening consumer cost-sharing signals and potentially increasing overall health spending.
Employers and insurers that absorb telehealth costs could face slightly higher plan expenses that may be passed on to enrollees through higher premiums or reduced benefits.
Removing the specific cross-reference could create short-term interpretive questions for some plans, tax advisers, and employers until regulators or guidance clarify implementation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows plans to waive deductibles for telehealth and remote care without losing HDHP status for HSA eligibility.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Steve Daines · Last progress February 27, 2025
Creates a rule that a health plan will not lose its status as a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) just because it does not require a deductible for telehealth and other remote care services. The change preserves Health Savings Account (HSA) eligibility for people in plans that waive telehealth deductibles and applies to plan years beginning after December 31, 2024.