OBBB Offers Telehealth Relief for HDHP/HSA Participants

While the final OBBB does not contain many of the more dramatic HSA-related changes proposed in earlier drafts (such as allowing Medicare beneficiaries to contribute to HSAs), it does offer some relief. Namely, the OBBB retroactively extends and makes permanent the COVID-era telehealth relief offered to HDHP/HSA participants--meaning that health plans do not fail to qualify as HDHPs solely for providing first dollar coverage for telehealth and other remote health care services before the minimum HDHP deductible is satisfied. Under the OBBB, HSA participants do not lose their eligibility to contribute if they are covered by (1) HDHPs providing benefits for non-preventive telehealth or other remote care for less than fair market value before satisfying the HDHP deductible or (2) stand-alone telehealth plans providing these remote services for less than the fair market value of the services. While the COVID-era relief expired after 2024, the OBBB provision is retroactive to January 1, 2025. For more information on the HDHP eligibility rules, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More: Link to Q8828. Note: Q8828 and 394 are updated.