HSAs can shift power to patients, but transparency must come first

The longest government shutdown in history ended on Nov. 12, 2025, 43 days after the Democrats first refused to vote to fund the government based on concerns over expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. All Americans were held hostage by this fight over the ACA, despite the fact that fewer than 10% rely on the ACA for their healthcare coverage.

In the final days of the shutdown, President Donald Trump proposed a strategy for dealing with spiraling healthcare costs: Instead of sending taxpayer subsidy dollars to insurance companies, redirect ACA subsidies directly to consumers. While he didn’t specify how this would be done, most observers have suggested this would be in the form of funding individual Health Savings Accounts.