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HHS and CMS release 2026 out-of-pocket expense limits

Author

Maureen Gammon and
Benjamin Lupin
October 18, 2024

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued the 2026 annual dollar limits on cost sharing. The maximum annual limitation on cost sharing that a group health plan can impose for 2026 is $10,150 for individual coverage and $20,300 for family coverage (compared with $9,200 and $18,400, respectively, for 2025) — an increase of 10.3%.

Note: These out-of-pocket maximums are different from the IRS limits on health savings account (HSA)-qualified high-deductible health plans. For information on HSA cost-sharing limits for 2025, see the Insider article “IRS announces 2025 HSA, HDHP and EB-HRA dollar limits.” The HSA cost sharing limits for 2026 will be released in spring 2025.

Authors

Maureen Gammon

Senior Director, RIC Health and Benefits Technical Services

Benjamin Lupin

Senior Regulatory Advisor, Health and Benefits