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The Expansion Of HSAs
Some expect a surge in new accounts. Others fear there are not enough eligible individuals to drive a new wave of sign-ups.
By Ben Mattlin
STARTING IN 2026, MORE AMERICANS WILL HAVE ACcess to health savings accounts( HSAs). Whether or not your clients should take advantage of this increased availability, however, depends on a number of factors.
“ Expanding HSA eligibility gives consumers more flexibility and control over how they pay for care,” says Shawn Martin, CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians.“ Ultimately, broader HSA eligibility empowers consumers to make smarter healthcare decisions and encourages long-term health savings.”
HSAs have been enabling clients to save for medical expenses in a tax-advantaged way since 2004. In these accounts, pretax money goes in, grows free of federal taxes and comes out tax-free as long as it’ s used for qualified medical expenses, the definition of which keeps expanding.( Some states, however, do impose state taxes on account growth.) By mid-2025, according to Devenir, a Bloomington, Minn.-based investment services firm, there were some 40 million HSAs with aggregate assets of $ 159 billion.
But to open one of these accounts, clients must have an eligible high-deductible health-insurance plan. These plans have low premiums as well as high deductibles, meaning clients pay less every month but end up paying more out-of-pocket for medical care before the insurance kicks in a share.
For 2026, the minimum eligible deductible is $ 1,700 for individuals and $ 3,400 for family coverage.“ For those with sufficient cash flow, HSAs remain a powerful tool, offering triple tax advantages and long-term wealth-building potential,” says Corey Goldstein of Signature Estate & Investment Advisors in Phoenix.
In 2026, thanks to last summer’ s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, more health-insurance plans from the Affordable Care Act marketplace, also known as Obamacare, fit the bill for HSA eligibility. Specifically, all those plans labeled“ bronze” or“ catastrophic”( sometimes called“ copper”) now qualify; previously, only“ silver” and higher tiers and a handful of“ bronze” plans did.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2026 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 45