🔗 Share this article

Deductibles. In-network. Out-of-network. Premium health services. Personal healthcare costs. Fixed payment. Co-insurance. Benefit advisers. Insurance brokers. Medical advisors. ACA. Health Maintenance Organization. Preferred Provider Organization. EPO. Point of Service. HDHP. Health Savings Account. FSA. HRA. EOB. COBRA. SHOP. Individual coverage. Family coverage. Premium tax credits.

Baffled? You should be. Who understands all this stuff? Not the typical business owner. Neither the average worker. Selecting the appropriate medical coverage for companies – or for our families – appears to require demands advanced expertise in medical insurance.

Our Healthcare System Is More Than Complicated, It's Expensive

According to recent research, the average family pays $twenty-seven thousand each year on medical coverage (up 6% from last year). Typical company healthcare expense is projected to exceed $seventeen thousand per employee in 2026, an increase of 9.5% from 2025.

Currently federal operations is shut down due to political disagreements over subsidies that experts say will lead to a doubling of premiums for millions of Americans.

When Will We Truly Examine National Health Insurance?

How soon might we genuinely evaluate a national health insurance program in the United States? I have to believe we're approaching that point because this situation is unsustainable.

I'm not proposing national healthcare. I'm proposing that our already existing Medicare program – an established insurance framework – simply expand to cover everyone. Our infrastructure remains intact. The way medical professionals get paid would change. Trust me, they will adjust.

The Way Universal Coverage Could Function

A national health insurance program would require payments from employees and employers. In similar programs, a worker making moderate income pays about five point three percent toward medical coverage. Their employer pays approximately 13.75%.

Does this appear expensive? Not if you contrast it to what average US resident spends. I can name multiple businesses that are routinely paying between 8% to 15% of their employee wages for medical benefits. And keep in mind that in comprehensive systems, those payments include retirement benefits, illness coverage, maternity leave and job loss protection along with funding medical services. When you add these expenses compared with our current spending for our retirement plans, unemployment insurance and paid time off, the gap narrows.

Execution in the US

In the US, a national health premium would increase existing Medicare taxes, a system already established. It should be means-based – wealthier individuals would pay more than those earning less. There would be both worker and company payments. And, like many our government's military, technology, welfare services and infrastructure, the program should be outsourced by private contractors rather than federal agencies.

Benefits for Entrepreneurs

Universal healthcare coverage represents a significant advantage for entrepreneurs like mine. It would place us on a level playing field against big corporations who can afford better plans. It would render administration much easier (automatic payroll withholding remitted like social security and Medicare taxes, instead of individual transactions to insurance companies and coverage administrators).

It would enable it easier to plan expenses our yearly costs, instead of enduring the complex (and ineffective) process of bargaining with the big insurance providers required annually every year. Because it's simplified, there would be a better understanding about benefits by our employees – as opposed to the current system where they have to decipher the complexities of current options. Additionally there would certainly be less liability for employers since we wouldn't would be privy to our employees' health histories for weighing risks and alternative plans.

Capitalist Perspective

I'm as pro-market as they get. However I recognize that government play important functions in our lives, from providing defense to funding essential systems. Ensuring medical coverage to all through a national insurance system strengthens our economy's infrastructure. It represents superior, easier system for entrepreneurs which hire the majority of American employees and fund half of our GDP. It enables employees to be healthier, have better attendance and increase productivity.

Addressing Concerns

Exist a million considerations I haven't covered? Of course there are. But with rising medical expenses we've seen in recent years, it's evident that current healthcare legislation isn't functioning very well. I understand that we're not a small, Scandinavian country where major reforms are easier to implement. However extending universal Medicare, despite the additional taxes required, would still be a superior and less expensive strategy both for controlling healthcare costs but providing access to everyone.

Need for Honest Assessment

As Americans, we need to tone down national pride. Our healthcare system isn't so great. We rank significantly behind many other countries in healthcare quality globally, based on major studies. Maybe one bright spot in this current situation is that we take serious examination in the mirror and agree that major reforms need to happen.