Lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to allow individuals to continue to use their health savings accounts to access telehealth services without first paying a deductible.
The “Telehealth Expansion Act of 2025” will permanently allow first-dollar coverage of virtual care under high-deductible health plans paired with a HSA so they can receive telehealth services without first meeting a deductible, according to a summary of the Senate bill by co-sponsors Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). A companion bill was introduced in the House by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and Reps. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.).
The expansion was originally included in legislation enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic and has expired. Danes and Cortez Masto said making the extension permanent will help rural residents who don’t have easy access to in-person health care.
The American Bankers Association’s HSA Council supports expanding flexibility for employers and health plans to offer high-value services like telehealth before patients meet their deductibles, council Executive Director Kevin McKechnie said. “We applaud Sen. Daines and Sen. Cortez Masto and Chairman Arrington and Rep. Schneider for their work to make this flexibility permanent and we encourage swift enactment.”
