The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law in July 2025, is one of the most consequential pieces of benefits legislation in recent memory. While headlines focus on compliance updates, this bill creates opportunities to reimagine how benefits support employee wellbeing, retention and long-term financial security.
As you prepare for 2026, here’s how forward-thinking HR leaders can turn compliance into competitive advantage.
- Permanent Telehealth Creates a New Baseline
For years, telehealth was a temporary patchwork solution. Now, OBBBA makes pre-deductible telehealth permanently compatible with HSAs retroactive to 2025. This ensures employees can access care earlier, without cost-sharing barriers, while employers retain the flexibility to decide how to structure coverage.
Why it matters: Employees now expect telehealth as a standard benefit. For HR leaders, this is an opportunity to position virtual care as part of a broader wellbeing and productivity strategy.
- Direct Primary Care Expands Access and Preventive Health
Beginning in 2026, employees enrolled in high-deductible health plans can also participate in Direct Primary Care (DPC) arrangements. For a flat monthly fee, employees receive unlimited access to primary care services.
Why it matters: DPC creates longer, more personal, provider relationships that can reduce chronic conditions and improve long-term outcomes. For employers, this supports both cost containment and population health strategies.
- Dependent Care FSAs Finally Get an Update
For the first time since 1986, the contribution cap on Dependent Care FSAs will rise, from $5,000 to $7,500 in 2026.
Why it matters: For CHROs, this expansion is a tangible way to support working families. But it also creates nondiscrimination testing risks, meaning HR and compliance teams must monitor plan design carefully.
- Student Loan Repayment Becomes a Permanent Benefit
OBBBA cements one of the most popular temporary provisions: employer contributions toward student loan repayment (up to $5,250 annually) are now permanent and indexed for inflation.
Why it matters: With student debt still a top financial stressor, this provision strengthens retention and recruitment for younger employees.
- Baby Bonds Aim to Build Generational Wealth
Perhaps the most forward-looking provision is the introduction of Baby Bonds — government-funded savings accounts for children born between 2025–2028. Parents, employers, nonprofits and state governments can all contribute.
Why it matters: While still a pilot program, Baby Bonds represent a paradigm shift in financial literacy and long-term savings. HR leaders should explore whether employer contributions to these accounts can enhance their family-friendly benefits portfolio.
What This Means for CHROs & HR Leaders
OBBBA is more than a compliance checklist. It’s an opportunity to:
- Recast your benefits strategy to reflect evolving workforce needs.
- Support financial equity and access to care.
- Strengthen employee engagement through tangible, future-focused benefits.
HR and Benefits Leader Action Steps
- Audit your benefits strategy now. Don’t wait until 2026. Build scenarios for telehealth, DPC, FSAs and student loan repayment.
- Survey employees. Find out which provisions resonate most (e.g., student loans for early-career employees, DPC for family-heavy populations).
- Align leadership. Position OBBBA as not just a compliance necessity, but a strategic workforce investment.
- Prepare communications. Employees will expect clarity. Build messaging that connects these benefits to retention, wellbeing and financial security.
The OBBBA represents a unique opportunity for HR leaders to lead, not react. By approaching these changes proactively, HR leaders can transform compliance into a competitive advantage and deliver benefits that truly matter.
Contact HUB International’s employee benefits specialists to discover how forward-thinking organizations are turning compliance into a competitive advantage.