Ryan Golden
2 min read
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter.
The IRS recently announced a slight boost to the maximum annual amount that individual employees may contribute to health savings accounts while enrolled in a high-deductible health plan for 2026, which will be set at $4,400, up from 2025’s limit of $4,300.
For individuals with family coverage, the IRS increased the contribution limit to $8,750 from this year’s mark of $8,550. Both increases are comparatively smaller than that which the agency instituted in 2025, when caps for individual and family coverage increased year-over-year by $150 and $250, respectively.
The agency again adjusted its regulatory definition of HDHPs for inflation, setting the low end of annual deductibles for HDHPs at $1,700 for self-only coverage and $3,400 for family coverage. The annual out-of-pocket expense limits for 2026 are $8,500 for individuals and $17,000 for families.
As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers are increasingly looking to plan design and network strategies that can help cut costs, a 2024 WTW survey found. However, the firm found that only 20% of employers sought to do so by promoting account-based health plans or HDHPs.
This followed prior research by the Employee Benefits Research Institute that found enrollment in HSA-eligible HDHPs leveled off between 2020 and 2023 and that those enrolled in HDHPs were less likely to report high satisfaction with their plans compared to other consumers.
EBRI’s report also found that 60% of HSA enrollees opened their accounts in order to take advantage of employer contributions, while 58% did so save for future health expenses and 52% cited tax savings.
Several trends have contributed to a declining HDHP adoption trend, according to a 2024 McKinsey & Co. analysis, such as increased cost sensitivity among employees due to inflation. The desire to share the burden of rising costs contributed to an initial shift among employers to high-deductible plans prior to 2020, but cost sharing “has likely reached a saturation point,” McKinsey said.
Organizations may continue to experiment with plan design to improve plan enrollees’ satisfaction, but “they must also place a strong emphasis on developing digitally enabled products to improve the member experience,” McKinsey added.
