One Big Beautiful Bill Act Passed: What Happens Now?

Swiftly signed into law on July 4, 2025 by President Trump, after passing through Congress last week, the 900+ page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB) contains a number of provisions which directly impact employee benefits as well as numerous tax and budget-related items of consequence.

Of note on the employee benefits side are changes to the telehealth safe harbor that was introduced during the pandemic but subsequently expired. This includes changes to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Dependent Care Assistance Programs (DCAPs), and commuter benefits. The law also addresses areas such as student loan repayment assistance programs and what is being referred to as “Trump Accounts”. To make this more digestible, it is probably best to break this down on a category-by-category basis below to easily outline the myriad legal changes at play.

Telehealth

First introduced under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA 2023), plan sponsors were granted the ability to offer telehealth plans at zero or reduced cost alongside a HDHP offering without impacting HSA eligibility. In October of 2024, we noted that the telehealth provision would expire if Congress took no action to make it permanent by December 31, 2024, which they in fact did not do at the time.

Now, with the passage of the OBBB, the telehealth safe harbor has been resurrected and made permanent. As a result, plan participants who have yet to satisfy their HDHP’s deductible will once again be able to have their plan cover telehealth and remote care services at zero cost without negatively impacting their HSA eligibility.

The relief provided under the OBBB is being applied retroactively back to January 1, 2025. However, we caution employers to temper expectations here. There is no requirement that you do so, and obtaining approvals from carriers and vendors will be necessary if/when/should you desire to remove any cost sharing you implemented in 2025 in order to protect those HSAs.

HSAs

As for HSAs, the OBBB contained relief in the form of the aforementioned telehealth provisions but also as it pertains to direct primary care services. For plan years beginning after December 31, 2025, certain direct primary care (DPC) service arrangements may be offered without cost-sharing and won’t impact HSA eligibility.

Typically, in DPC arrangements, patients pay a recurring monthly fee to cover any office visits/services related to their primary care prior to their HDHP deductible being satisfied. However, the OBBB does not consider DPC services as disqualifying coverage for HSA account holder purposes if the monthly fees for coverage do not cross the threshold of $150 per month for an individual or $300 per month for a family. Further, the OBBB allows HSA funds to be used to reimburse individuals for any fees paid as it relates to DPC arrangements.

DCAPs

For tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the maximum annual reimbursement limit for DCAPs will be increased from $5,000 per year to $7,500 (or $3,750 for married couples filing their taxes separately). It should be noted that the newly announced limit is not indexed for inflation, just as the previous maximum limit was not.

With many employers failing Section 129 discrimination testing regularly (due to the high average balances that HCEs (Highly Compensated Employees) carry in their Dependent Care accounts), employers would be wise to consider limiting the increased amount by appropriately sizing it to their non-HCE population, or they may risk additional failures. Employers should seek to get out in front of employees with an announcement during open enrollment if they intend to increase their permitted limits.

Qualified Bicycle Commuting Reimbursement

The OBBB eliminated tax-free reimbursements from employers for bicycle commuting.

Previously, this benefit allowed employers to offer workers a tax-free $20 per month incentive for biking to work but that capability will fully sunset as of December 31, 2025.

Next Steps for Employers?

Please reach out to your AssuredPartners Account Executives to discuss how these changes may impact your plans today, or your next renewal.