🔗 Share this article

Out-of-pocket costs. Preferred providers. Non-preferred providers. Concierge medical services. Personal healthcare costs. Co-payment. Co-insurance. Insurance consultants. Coverage agents. Healthcare consultants. Affordable Care Act. HMO. PPO. Exclusive Provider Organization. Point of Service. HDHP. HSA. Flexible Spending Account. HRA. Explanation of Benefits. COBRA. Small Business Health Options Program. Single coverage. Family coverage. Insurance subsidies.

Baffled? It's understandable. Who comprehends all this stuff? Not the typical business owner. Neither the average employee. Selecting the appropriate healthcare insurance for our business – or for households – seems like demands advanced expertise in medical insurance.

The Healthcare System Isn't Just Complex, It's Costly

Based on a recent study, typical households spends $27,000 annually for their health insurance (up 6% from last year). Typical employer health insurance cost is expected to exceed $17,000 per employee in 2026, an increase of 9.5% from 2025.

Currently the government has ceased functioning due to partisan disputes regarding subsidies that experts say will lead to a doubling of premiums for millions of Americans.

When Might We Truly Examine Universal Healthcare?

How soon might we genuinely evaluate 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 government-run medicine. I'm proposing for our current Medicare program – an established insurance framework – simply expand to include all citizens. Our infrastructure remains intact. The way medical professionals receive payment changes. Believe me, they will adjust.

How Universal Coverage Would Work

Universal healthcare coverage would need payments from employees and employers. In comparable systems, a worker making moderate income pays about 5.3% toward medical coverage. Their employer must contribute about thirteen point seventy-five percent.

Does this seem like a lot? Unless you compare it to what the typical US resident spends. I can name dozens of businesses that are routinely paying between eight to fifteen percent of their employee wages to their healthcare costs. And keep in mind that in inclusive programs, these contributions also cover pension plans, illness coverage, parental benefits and unemployment benefits in addition to supporting healthcare facilities. When you add these expenses versus our current spending on retirement programs, unemployment insurance and vacation benefits, the gap narrows.

Execution for America

In the US, a national health premium would increase existing Medicare taxes, a system that is already in place. It should be means-based – wealthier individuals would contribute higher amounts than lower-income earners. This includes both an employee and employer contribution. And, like many our government's defense, IT, social programs and transportation services, the program should be outsourced by private contractors rather than federal agencies.

Advantages for Entrepreneurs

A national health insurance program represents a significant advantage for small businesses like mine. It would place small companies in equal competition with our larger competitors that can pay for superior coverage. It would render management significantly simpler (a payroll deduction remitted like social security and Medicare taxes, rather than individual transactions to insurance companies and coverage administrators).

It would enable it easier to plan expenses our yearly costs, rather than enduring the complex (and fruitless) theater of bargaining with the big insurance providers that we must do each year. Because it's simplified, there would be improved comprehension of coverage by our employees – as opposed to existing arrangements which require them to decipher the complications of existing plans. And there would certainly be less liability for employers as we no longer would be privy to our employees' health histories for purposes of risk assessment and different options.

Capitalist Perspective

I'm as capitalist as possible. But I've learned that public institutions play important functions in society, from providing defense to supporting essential systems. Ensuring medical coverage to all through a national insurance system strengthens our economy's infrastructure. It represents superior, simpler approach for entrepreneurs which hire the majority of the country's workers and fund half of our GDP. It enables for workers to enjoy better health, come to work more often and increase productivity.

Addressing Concerns

Are there a million considerations I haven't covered? Certainly. But with all the healthcare cost increases experienced in recent years, it's clear that current healthcare legislation isn't functioning effectively. And I realize that we're not a small, Scandinavian country where major reforms can be readily adopted. However extending Medicare for all, despite the additional taxes required, would remain a better and more affordable strategy for not only managing medical expenses 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 exceptional. The US places significantly behind many other countries with the best healthcare in the world, according to comprehensive research. Maybe one bright spot amid present circumstances is that we undertake serious examination in the mirror and agree that major reforms need to happen.