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Out-of-pocket costs. Preferred providers. Out-of-network. Concierge medical services. Personal healthcare costs. Co-payment. Co-insurance. Insurance consultants. Insurance brokers. Medical advisors. Affordable Care Act. HMO. Preferred Provider Organization. EPO. POS. High Deductible Health Plan. HSA. FSA. HRA. Explanation of Benefits. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Small Business Health Options Program. Single coverage. Family coverage. Premium tax credits.

Baffled? It's understandable. Who comprehends all this stuff? Not the typical business owner. Neither the average employee. Choosing the right healthcare insurance for companies – or for households – appears to require demands advanced expertise in healthcare.

Our Healthcare System Is More Than Complex, It Is Expensive

Based on a recent study, the average family pays $twenty-seven thousand annually for their health insurance (increasing by 6% from last year). Typical employer health insurance cost is expected to surpass $seventeen thousand per employee in 2026, a 9.5% jump from 2025.

Currently federal operations is shut down due to political disagreements regarding subsidies that experts say could cause premium increases up to 100% for millions of Americans.

When Might We Truly Examine National Health Insurance?

How soon might we seriously consider a national health insurance program here in America? I have to believe we're getting closer since this can't continue.

I'm not suggesting national healthcare. I'm proposing that our already existing Medicare system – an insurance system – merely extend to cover everyone. Our infrastructure remains intact. How medical professionals get paid would change. Trust me, they'll adapt.

How Universal Coverage Could Function

A national health insurance program would require contributions from both employees and employers. In similar programs, an employee earning moderate income must contribute approximately 5.3% to their healthcare. The company must contribute approximately thirteen point seventy-five percent.

Does this appear expensive? Unless you compare it to what the typical US resident spends. I know multiple clients who are routinely paying between eight to fifteen percent of payroll costs to their healthcare costs. And keep in mind that with inclusive programs, those payments also cover pension plans, sick pay, maternity leave and job loss protection along with supporting healthcare facilities. When you add these expenses versus our current spending on retirement programs, job loss coverage and paid time off, the gap narrows.

Implementation for America

For America, universal healthcare funding would raise our Medicare tax deduction, a system that is already in place. It should be income-adjusted – wealthier individuals would contribute higher amounts than those earning less. This includes both an employee and employer contribution. And, like much of federal defense, IT, social programs and transportation services, the program should be outsourced to third-party administrators rather than a government office.

Advantages for Small Businesses

Universal healthcare coverage represents a huge benefit for entrepreneurs like mine. It would place small companies in equal competition with our larger competitors who can afford better plans. It would make management much easier (automatic payroll withholding remitted like social security and Medicare taxes, rather than separate payments to benefit firms and coverage administrators).

It would enable simpler to plan expenses annual expenditures, rather than enduring the complicated (and ineffective) theater of negotiating with the big insurance providers required annually each year. Because it's simplified, there would be a better understanding about benefits by our employees – contrasted with existing arrangements where they have to decipher the complications of existing plans. And there would definitely exist less liability for employers as we no longer would be privy to our employees' health histories for purposes of weighing risks and alternative plans.

Capitalist Perspective

I'm as capitalist as they get. But I've learned that public institutions play important functions in society, from providing defense to supporting needed infrastructure. Ensuring medical coverage to all via universal healthcare enhances our economy's infrastructure. It represents superior, easier system for small businesses which hire the majority of the country's workers and fund half the economic output. It enables employees to enjoy better health, come to work more often and increase productivity.

Addressing Concerns

Exist a million considerations I haven't covered? Of course there are. But with all the healthcare cost increases we've seen in recent years, it's clear that the Affordable Care Act is not working effectively. I understand that America isn't a compact European nation where big changes are easier to implement. However extending universal Medicare, even with the additional taxes required, would still be a superior and less expensive approach for not only controlling healthcare costs and ensuring coverage for all citizens.

Need for Honest Assessment

We as Americans, we need to reduce national pride. America's medical care isn't so great. The US places well below numerous nations with the best healthcare in the world, according to comprehensive research. Perhaps a bright spot amid current situation is that we undertake a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge that major reforms need to happen.