A primary update includes the permanent extension of a policy allowing patients to use Telehealth services before meeting their insurance deductibles without losing HSA eligibility. The new regulations also permit individuals to use tax-free HSA funds to pay for Direct Primary Care (DPC) subscription fees, provided the monthly costs remain under specific price caps. Furthermore, the legislation reclassifies all bronze and catastrophic plans sold on the ACA Exchange as HSA-compatible, regardless of their specific structure. These legal shifts, summarized in IRS Notice 2026-5, grant employers greater flexibility in designing health benefits and offer consumers more ways to save for medical expenses.
Prescription discount cards are frequently marketed as a simple way to lower medication expenses, but their place in your overall healthcare strategy is often misunderstood. While they might appear to be a straightforward solution for high costs, there are critical factors to evaluate before you stop using your insurance coverage. By learning how these cards operate, identifying the specific situations where they are beneficial, and recognizing their inherent limitations, you can make more informed decisions to manage your prescription spending effectively.
The Deductible Trap: A major drawback is that money spent using a discount card typically does not count toward your health insurance deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. While you might save money on a single refill, it could result in higher total costs over the year because you aren’t making progress toward your plan’s limit
