Starting in 2026, there’s good news for patients using Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): your UpStream membership will be eligible!
What’s an HDHP and HSA?
- High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP): A type of insurance with lower monthly premiums but a higher deductible. Many employers offer these plans.
- Health Savings Account (HSA): A special savings account you can put pre-tax money into. You don’t pay taxes on contributions, growth, or withdrawals when you use it for qualified medical expenses.
Together, HDHPs and HSAs give you more control. You pay for everyday or routine care directly, while your insurance is there for big or unexpected costs.
What Changed?
In late 2025, Congress passed the One Beautiful Bill. Starting January 2026, this new law means:
- Direct Primary Care (DPC) memberships — like UpStream’s — will be HSA-eligible.
- HSAs can also be used more flexibly for lifestyle and prevention services, including many functional medicine options.
That means you can use tax-free HSA dollars for your UpStream membership, your labs, and more.
What This Means at UpStream
We’ve simplified our model so you only need one membership. Once you join, you choose how to pay for visits:
- Per-Visit: $360 per hour, with a 10% member discount → $324/hour
- Unlimited Consultations: $95 per month
Beginning in 2026, both of these options can be paid with your HSA card. Until then, you can still use your HSA for labs, tests, and many other qualified services at UpStream.
Why This Matters
- Lower Net Cost: Because HSA contributions are pre-tax, using them is like getting a built-in discount.
- Prevention Counts: You can now use tax-free dollars for care that helps you stay healthy, not just for emergencies.
- Flexibility: Keep your insurance for hospital and emergency coverage, and use your HSA for the care you actually use every month.
Our Advice for Patients
- Keep your HDHP coverage for major medical needs.
- Fund your HSA if you can — contributions roll over year after year.
- Use your HSA at UpStream for visits, labs, and soon (2026) your membership.
- Ask us for help. We’ll provide receipts, guidance, and education to make it easy.
The Bottom Line
At UpStream, we believe in transparency, prevention, and care that looks upstream — at the root causes of illness. With HDHPs and HSAs, and the coming 2026 changes, our model of care has never fit better into the health system.
Your health, your plan, your savings. That’s the UpStream way.
