The Power Pairing: How HDHPs and HSAs can deliver value together

For employers and brokers looking to balance rising healthcare costs with employee financial well-being, a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) offered with a Health Savings Account (HSA) can be an effective pairing.

Eligibility to open and contribute to an HSA is dependent on being enrolled in a qualifying HDHP. When offered together, HDHPs and HSAs can help support a benefits strategy focused on cost management, employee engagement and enrollment in consumer-driven health plans.

HDHPs continue to gain ground

HDHP growth reflects a meaningful shift in employer-sponsored healthcare. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 33% of covered workers were enrolled in HDHPs paired with a savings option in 2025, making them the second most common plan design after PPOs. Additionally, enrollment in HDHPs with savings options increased from just 4% of covered workers in 2006 to 33% in 2025.¹

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that access to HDHPs among private-sector workers increased from 38% in 2015 to 50% in 2024. Access to HSAs grew from 24% to 39% during the same period.²

As healthcare premiums continue to rise, employers increasingly view HDHPs as a practical way to manage benefits costs while encouraging employees to become more engaged healthcare consumers.

The missing piece: An HSA

Despite the cost advantages of HDHPs, employees may hesitate to enroll because of concerns about higher deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. That’s where an HSA becomes meaningful.

An HSA enables employees to set aside pre-tax dollars via payroll deduction that can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses while providing three distinct tax advantages:

• Contributions made via payroll deduction are pre-tax.
• Earnings, including those realized through investing, grow tax-free.*
• Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free.

In addition, unlike flexible spending accounts, HSA balances remain with the employee even if they change jobs. While the ability to contribute remains tied to enrollment in an HDHP, funds in an HSA remain available for the accountholder to use and are not forfeited for a job change, at the end of a plan year or if contributions are not being made. For some employees, an HSA may help make an HDHP a manageable and attractive healthcare option.

*Investing options are typically available once the HSA reaches a designated threshold. As with any investment, there are risks; make sure to fully explore those risks before choosing to invest your balance.

An HSA can help support HDHP enrollment by offering employees:

1. A way to save for current medical expenses: Employees may be more likely to enroll in an HDHP when they understand how contributed funds can be used for qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses. Employer contributions can also help further ease concerns by giving employees an initial source of funds for qualified healthcare expenses. Seed contributions, matches and wellness-based rewards may also help promote awareness and encourage utilization.
2. A visible employee option:
   An HSA provides a tangible account employees own and can contribute to, monitor, and use for qualified medical expenses both now and into the future. This ownership may help employees better understand and engage with the value of the HDHP and related benefits.
3. A tool to support financial wellness:
   HSAs can do more than offer a resource to help pay for current eligible medical expenses. They can also give employees a tool to help plan and budget for, future healthcare costs. As healthcare costs in retirement can be a concern for employees, HSAs can serve as a savings vehicle that can be used for future medical expenses into retirement and beyond.

Employees are increasingly using HSAs as long-term savings vehicle

According to Devenir’s 2025 Year-End HSA Market Research Report, there were more than 41 million HSA accounts holding nearly $174 billion in assets at the end of 2025. HSA investment assets grew 33% year over year to reach $85 billion, reflecting growing recognition of HSAs as a long-term savings tool.³

These numbers suggest that employees are doing more than simply spending HSA dollars on current healthcare needs. Increasingly, they are saving and investing for future healthcare expenses and retirement. For employers, this may represent an opportunity to offer a benefit that supports both near-term healthcare affordability and longer-term financial preparedness.

A strategic advantage for employers and brokers

For employers, pairing an HSA with an HDHP can help:

• Manage healthcare benefit costs
• Encourage consumer engagement
• Promote financial wellness
• Increase employee appreciation of benefits
• Support workforce retirement readiness.

For brokers, the combination creates a consultative story that aligns healthcare benefits with broader workforce and business objectives. Organizations that offer a well-designed HSA alongside their HDHP may be well positioned to support employee confidence, enrollment education and perceived value from their benefits investment.

The bottom line: An HDHP and HSA are most effective when offered together

The HDHP may help address cost pressures through lower premiums, while the HSA can help employees prepare for qualified healthcare expenses and build longer-term financial resilience. Together, they can support a benefits strategy focused on HDHP adoption, employee education and financial wellness considerations both now and into retirement.

For employers and brokers evaluating benefits strategies for the coming plan year, HDHPs may have an important place in the benefits portfolio. Pairing them with an HSA can be one way to help employees better understand the value of the plan.

Why Voya for HSAs

Voya HSAs are designed to support employees beyond paying for eligible expenses today, with cash account flexibility, investment options, education and digital tools that can help employees use their HSA for both near-term healthcare needs and longer-term planning.

For employers and brokers, Voya can support a more strategic HSA conversation through carrier-agnostic flexibility, cost visibility, and service accountability. Because Voya can integrate with different medical carriers, the HSA experience may remain more consistent if the medical plan changes, which can help reduce disruption for employees and administrative complexity for HR teams.

The result is an HSA solution designed to support the benefits ecosystem through fewer vendor relationships, clearer ownership, a simpler employee experience and a stronger connection between healthcare decisions, financial wellness and even retirement readiness.

For employers looking to make HDHPs more attractive and for brokers looking to tell a more differentiated benefits story, Voya can help make the potential value of an HSA easier to explain and sustain.

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1. 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation, Oct. 22, 2025

2. High deductible health plans and health savings accounts, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 11, 2025

3. 2025 Year-End Devenir HSA research report, Devenir, April 23, 2026