A High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) is a health insurance plan traditionally defined by lower premiums and higher deductibles. For a health plan to be considered a qualifying, high-deductible health plan, or HSA-eligible, it must meet the IRS's annual minimum deductible and out-of-pocket maximum set annually. These two amounts are indexed annually for inflation.
The health insurance plan must also be designed so that the individual or family (two or more individuals) pay the cost of healthcare up to the deductible before any insurance kicks in (preventative care excluded from this definition).1
Starting January 1, 2026, new federal rules will expand who is eligible to open and contribute to a health savings account. A new law called the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) allows many ACA marketplace plans—like Bronze and Catastrophic plans—to count as HSA-eligible, even if they don’t meet the usual requirements. This change gives more people access to HSAs, especially those who were left out before because of how their plans were designed.
This update makes HSAs available to more people with individual or marketplace health plans—especially freelancers, small-business workers, or people who retire early. To learn more about the recent changes, review our guide on the new HSA rules under the OBBB.
For more information on the high-deductible health plan guidelines take a look at our blog article: HSA Eligibility Requirements: Discover if You’re Eligible.
1. “Section 223 - Health Savings Accounts.” Internal Revenue Service. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-13-57.pdf.
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