How to reduce health care costs: A freedom-based plan to lower health care costs for good

Feb 25, 2026 by AFP

Health care costs keep climbing, whether it’s premiums, deductibles, prescriptions, or the taxes we pay to cover government subsidies.

This is leading many people to ask: How do we reduce health care costs without sacrificing quality or choice?

For years, progressive policymakers have pushed government price controls and taxpayer subsidies, or even a government takeover of the entire health care system. We believe the answer isn’t more government control. It’s more personal control, transparency, and competition.

The Personal Option: A real answer to high health care costs

The current system is driven by top-down decisions and massive public spending. When costs rise, politicians don’t fix the problem — they just spend more of your money.

Even with insurance, many Americans hesitate before seeing a doctor because they’re unsure what their actual out-of-pocket costs will be.

That creates a cycle that’s hard to break.

Every time government increases spending on health care assistance, insurance companies respond by raising premiums. They have almost no incentive to compete on price or keep costs low. Families and taxpayers end up paying more.

Over time, this has led to:

Fewer insurance options that actually fit families’ needs
More mandates that raise prices and reduce flexibility
Rising taxpayer costs while care remains the same

Also driving higher costs are the flood of rules and regulations that not only increase bureaucracy and annoying paperwork, but also deny Americans access to more affordable coverage options.

The Personal Option takes a different approach. Instead of funding systems and insurers, it focuses on funding people and expanding access to options that reward value shopping and price transparency.

Health savings accounts: Putting families in control

One key component of our Personal Option agenda is expanding access to health savings accounts, or HSAs.

HSAs let individuals and families save and spend money tax-free on qualified health care costs.

The funds can typically be used for routine care, prescriptions, specialist visits, and more. This allows people to keep more of their paycheck, shop for value, and control where their health care money is spent. Unspent funds could be rolled over to the next year.

But outdated rules block many Americans from using HSAs to their full potential. Just 1 in 5 Americans qualify for these money-saving accounts. Expanding HSA access would help more people build a nest egg for medical expenses and make more informed spending decisions about their own health care.

That kind of consumer-driven system encourages providers to compete on cost and quality — one of the most effective ways to reduce health care costs over time. It also means providers would have to be more transparent in their pricing, which would help patients save even more by letting them shop for the lowest price.

Direct primary care: A simple way to keep health care costs down

Direct primary care offers an easy way to access everyday health services.

With DPC, patients pay doctor practices a flat monthly fee that typically covers office visits, preventative care, basic lab work, and telehealth consultations.

Because DPC practices don’t bill insurance, they eliminate layers of administrative costs, passing the savings on to their patients.

This model also improves care. Traditional, insurance-based primary care physicians typically manage thousands of patients, which often leads to rushed appointments. Because they don’t have to deal with insurance company bureaucracy, DPC doctors can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork.

This doesn’t eliminate the need for insurance entirely. Many patients will still carry insurance in case of a catastrophic illness or injury. However, these policies typically have very low monthly premiums and high deductibles, keeping costs low.

Telehealth: Expanding access and lowering costs

Telehealth is another important tool in lowering health care costs while expanding flexibility.

For families in rural communities or those balancing work and child care, getting to a doctor’s office can be difficult and expensive. Telehealth allows patients to consult with providers online from the comfort and safety of their home for routine concerns, follow-ups, and minor conditions.

Expanding telehealth options would reduce unnecessary office visits, save travel time, cut down on extra costs, and limit exposure in waiting rooms to other sick patients who may be contagious. This, combined with expanded HSA and DPC options, gives patients real choice, transparency, and flexibility with their health care costs.

A viable path forward

Health care affordability won’t come with more government regulations, less consumer choice, and more profits for insurance companies.

Our Personal Option health care agenda offers a clear path toward lowering health care costs for all Americans by removing outdated barriers to care and improving flexibility and transparency.

We’re urging lawmakers to stop repeating the same failed big-government approach and start supporting policies that expand personal choice and flexibility.

Take 30 seconds to sign our letter calling on Washington to support our Personal Option health care plan here.

Take a few minutes to dive deeper and learn more about AFP’s health care solutions here.