A Strategic Guide for Employers: How to Leverage the New HSA Rules

Part 3 of 4: What Employers and Brokers Need to Know

In Part 2 of this series, we explored how the new HSA rules connect tax-advantaged savings to modern care options like telehealth and Direct Primary Care (DPC). While these updates are a clear win for employees, they also represent a major strategic opportunity for employers and benefit brokers.

The One Big Beautiful Bill is not just a compliance update. It is a chance to rethink your benefits strategy, expand access, and strengthen your position in today’s competitive labor market.

Here is how to make the most of what is changing.

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‍Opportunity 1: Design a More Attractive and Modern Benefits Package

Top candidates care about more than compensation. They evaluate the flexibility, accessibility, and relevance of the benefits you offer. The new HSA rules give employers and brokers the tools to create plans that reflect how people prefer to access care today.

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‍Highlight Telehealth

You can now confidently offer first-dollar telehealth coverage, which is a highly valued benefit, without affecting employees' HSA eligibility. This supports convenience and improves access to care.

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Embrace Direct Primary Care

With DPC compatibility taking effect in 2026, now is the time to explore this model. DPC supports more personalized, relationship-based care. Including it as an option allows you to better meet the needs of a diverse workforce.

• For employers and HR teams: This is an opportunity to modernize your offering and respond to employee preferences. Offering these types of benefits shows that you are paying attention to what today’s workforce expects from their healthcare experience.
• For brokers: This creates a new opportunity to advise clients on how to update plan designs and better align with evolving employee expectations.

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Opportunity 2: Expand Access and Support Financial Wellness
The new law expands HSA eligibility to include Bronze and Catastrophic marketplace plans starting in 2026. This makes it possible to extend HSA access to a broader segment of your workforce, including part-time, contract, and variable-hour employees.

When more employees can contribute to an HSA, you are not just offering a tax benefit. You are helping them build long-term financial stability and reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

• For employers and HR teams: This change allows you to improve benefits equity and reach more of your population with meaningful savings tools. It also creates a path for employees with lower incomes or nontraditional roles to take advantage of the same long-term value as full-time team members.
• For brokers: This change opens new doors for clients with mixed employee populations or limited plan options. It creates opportunities to design more inclusive benefit strategies.

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The Critical Next Step: Communication
A modern benefits package cannot succeed if the people it serves are unsure how it works. These opportunities only become real advantages when employees understand them.

The new HSA rules introduce additional details and timelines that employees need to follow. If there is confusion about what is covered, how DPC interacts with their HSA, or when new options become available, the value of your investment may be lost.

Clear and consistent communication is essential.

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What’s Next
In our final post, we will tackle the communication challenge directly. You will learn how to simplify complex updates, deliver timely information, and build a communication strategy that helps your team get the most from their benefits.

Coming up next week: How to create a year-round benefits communication approach that actually works.