Extension of Telehealth Services Ends
A provision allowing high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to waive the deductible for telehealth and other remote care services without causing plan participants to lose the ability to contribute to a health savings account (HSA) expires for calendar year plans on December 31, 2024. The relief was first granted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 and was further extended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. A short-term budget resolution passed by Congress in late December 2024 did not include an additional extension.
This means calendar-year HDHPs that provide pre-deductible coverage for telehealth services on or after January 1, 2025 will disqualify participants from contributing to an HSA. For HDHPs that do not operate on a calendar year, their participant will not be impacted until the start of the plan year that begins in 2025.
