The White House is touting efforts to expand eligibility for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for millions of Americans, as Democrat demands around health care access are front-and-center in the government funding fight.
A report shared exclusively with The Hill from the White House Council of Economic Advisers outlines how the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which President Trump signed into law in July, is expected to expand access to HSAs for millions of Americans.
The report points to language in the legislation that reclassifies Bronze and Catastrophic health plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, allowing more enrollees in those plans to open and contribute to HSAs.
The report also cites an announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services earlier this month expanding eligibility for catastrophic plans for those over the age of 30.
“We estimate the additional enrollment of 3 million in catastrophic plans coupled with the expansion of HSA eligibility for bronze and catastrophic plans, will increase the number of Americans eligible for an HSA to 10 million,” the report states.
The report comes as Democrats’ health care access demands have become a core piece of their argument in a government funding debate that has threatened a shutdown in the coming days if lawmakers cannot reach an agreement before Tuesday.
Democratic leaders have pushed for any extension of government funding to include an extension of enhanced tax credits around the Affordable Care Act. Without action, enhanced tax credits passed during the COVID-19 pandemic to help people afford coverage will expire at the end of the year, leading to a spike in premiums.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has also railed against cuts to Medicaid in Trump’s budget bill, which Republicans have argued are intended to eliminate benefits for those in the country illegally. Democrats have also argued the GOP-backed bill is leading to rural hospital closures.
“Donald Trump is making health care in America more expensive,” Schumer posted on the social media platform X. “He’s about to shut down the government over it.”
Still, when it comes to expanding access to HSAs, Democrats have been supportive in the past.
Democratic lawmakers have for years supported legislation that would make certain health care plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace available to more Americans and provide greater flexibility. For example, 12 House Democrats voted for legislation in 2018 that would have allowed all individuals to purchase catastrophic health plans in the marketplace.
“Democrats pushed to expand Health Savings Account eligibility in ACA plans for over a decade, but President Trump actually delivered with his historic working-class tax cut legislation – legislation that the Council of Economic Advisers found expands HSA eligibility for millions of Americans,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.
“Now Democrats want to die on the hill of shutting down our government to push their $1.5 trillion partisan spending bill that not only wastes billions on free health care for illegal aliens, but would undo President Trump’s expansion of HSA eligibility for millions of hardworking Americans,” Desai added.
