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Deductibles. Preferred providers. Out-of-network. Concierge medical services. Personal healthcare costs. Fixed payment. Shared insurance. Insurance consultants. Insurance brokers. Healthcare consultants. Affordable Care Act. Health Maintenance Organization. PPO. EPO. Point of Service. HDHP. HSA. Flexible Spending Account. Health Reimbursement Arrangement. Explanation of Benefits. COBRA. SHOP. Single coverage. Dependent coverage. Premium tax credits.

Baffled? You should be. Who understands all this stuff? Not the typical business owner. Neither the average employee. Choosing the appropriate medical coverage for companies – or for households – appears to require it requires advanced expertise in medical insurance.

Our Healthcare System Is More Than Complex, It Is Costly

According to recent research, the average family spends $27,000 annually for their health insurance (increasing by 6% from last year). The average company healthcare expense is projected to exceed $seventeen thousand for each worker by 2026, an increase of 9.5% compared to 2025.

Now the government has ceased functioning due to political disagreements regarding subsidies that experts say will lead to a doubling of premiums for numerous US citizens.

When Might We Truly Examine Universal Healthcare?

How soon might we genuinely evaluate a national health insurance program here in America? I'm convinced we're approaching that point because this can't continue.

I'm not suggesting government-run medicine. I'm advocating that our already existing Medicare program – an insurance system – merely extend to include all citizens. Our infrastructure doesn't change. The way medical professionals receive payment would change. Believe me, they will adjust.

The Way National Health Insurance Would Work

A national health insurance program would need payments from both employees and employers. In comparable systems, a worker earning average wages must contribute about 5.3% to their healthcare. Their employer must contribute about thirteen point seventy-five percent.

Does this seem expensive? Unless you contrast that with what the typical US resident spends. I can name dozens of businesses who are routinely paying between 8% to 15% of their employee wages to their healthcare costs. Remember that in comprehensive systems, those payments also cover retirement benefits, illness coverage, maternity leave and unemployment benefits along with supporting medical services. When including those costs versus what we pay on retirement programs, job loss coverage and paid time off, the gap narrows.

Implementation in the US

In the US, universal healthcare funding would increase our Medicare tax deduction, a system that is already in place. It should be income-adjusted – those at higher income levels would contribute higher amounts than those earning less. This includes both worker and company payments. Similar to many federal defense, technology, welfare services and infrastructure, the program should be outsourced to third-party administrators instead of federal agencies.

Advantages for Entrepreneurs

Universal healthcare coverage represents a significant advantage for entrepreneurs such as my company. It would place us on a level playing field against big corporations who can afford better plans. It would make administration much easier (a payroll deduction remitted like retirement and Medicare taxes, instead of individual transactions to benefit firms and insurance providers).

It would make simpler for us to budget annual expenditures, rather than enduring the complicated (and fruitless) theater of negotiating with the big insurance providers that we must do each year. Due to simplification, there would be a better understanding of coverage by our employees – as opposed to existing arrangements where they have to decipher the complexities of current options. And there would definitely exist less liability for companies since we wouldn't would be privy to our employees' medical records for purposes of weighing risks and different options.

Capitalist Perspective

I'm as capitalist as they get. But I've learned that government has a significant role in society, from providing defense to funding essential systems. Ensuring medical coverage to all through a national insurance system enhances economic foundations. It represents superior, easier system for entrepreneurs which hire the majority of the country's workers and generate half the economic output. It makes it possible employees to enjoy better health, come to work more often and increase productivity.

Addressing Concerns

Exist a million considerations I'm not addressing? Of course there are. Given all the healthcare cost increases we've seen recently, 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 can be readily adopted. However extending universal Medicare, despite increased taxation that would be incurred, would remain a better and less expensive strategy for not only managing medical expenses and ensuring coverage to everyone.

Need for Honest Assessment

We as Americans, we need to reduce our own arrogance. America's medical care isn't exceptional. We rank significantly behind many other countries in healthcare quality in the world, based on comprehensive research. Maybe one positive aspect in this present circumstances is that we take serious examination at ourselves and agree that major reforms need to happen.