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Out-of-pocket costs. In-network. Non-preferred providers. Concierge medical services. Personal healthcare costs. Fixed payment. Shared insurance. Benefit advisers. Coverage agents. Healthcare consultants. ACA. HMO. Preferred Provider Organization. Exclusive Provider Organization. POS. High Deductible Health Plan. HSA. FSA. HRA. EOB. COBRA. Small Business Health Options Program. Single coverage. Family coverage. Insurance subsidies.

Baffled? You should be. Who understands this complex system? Not the typical entrepreneur. Neither the average employee. Choosing the right medical coverage for companies – or for households – seems like demands a PhD in medical insurance.

Our Medical System Is More Than Complex, It Is Costly

Based on recent research, typical households pays $27,000 annually for their health insurance (increasing by 6% compared to last year). The average employer health insurance cost is projected to exceed $seventeen thousand per employee in 2026, a 9.5% jump from 2025.

Currently federal operations is shut down because political disagreements regarding tax credits that experts say will lead to a doubling of premiums for numerous US citizens.

When Will 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 proposing government-run medicine. I'm advocating for our current Medicare system – an insurance system – simply expand to cover everyone. Our infrastructure doesn't change. How our healthcare providers get paid would change. Trust me, they will adjust.

How National Health Insurance Would Work

A national health insurance program would need contributions from employees and employers. In comparable systems, an employee making average wages pays about 5.3% to their healthcare. Their employer must contribute about thirteen point seventy-five percent.

Does this seem expensive? Not if you compare it to what the typical American pays. I can name dozens of clients that are easily contributing between eight to fifteen percent of their employee wages for medical benefits. And keep in mind that in inclusive programs, those payments also cover pension plans, illness coverage, parental benefits and unemployment benefits 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.

Implementation in the US

In the US, a national health premium would raise existing Medicare taxes, a framework that is already in place. It should be income-adjusted – wealthier individuals would contribute higher amounts than lower-income earners. There would be both worker and employer contribution. Similar to much of our government's defense, technology, welfare services and infrastructure, the program could be managed by private contractors rather than federal agencies.

Benefits for Small Businesses

Universal healthcare coverage would be a significant advantage for small businesses like mine. It would put small companies in equal competition with our larger competitors that can pay for better plans. It would render management much easier (automatic payroll withholding processed similarly to social security and Medicare taxes, rather than individual transactions to insurance companies and insurance providers).

It would make simpler to plan expenses annual expenditures, rather than enduring the complex (and fruitless) process of bargaining with major insurers that we must do 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 current options. And there would definitely exist reduced responsibility for employers as we no longer would be privy to our employees' medical records for weighing risks and alternative plans.

Capitalist Perspective

I'm as pro-market as they get. But I've learned that public institutions play important functions in society, from providing defense to funding essential systems. Providing healthcare to all via universal healthcare strengthens economic foundations. It represents superior, easier system for entrepreneurs that employ the majority of the country's workers and fund half the economic output. It enables for workers to be healthier, have better attendance and increase productivity.

Considering Challenges

Exist a million considerations I'm not addressing? Certainly. But with rising medical expenses we've seen in recent years, it's clear that the Affordable Care Act isn't functioning effectively. I understand that America isn't a small, Scandinavian country where major reforms are easier to implement. But expanding Medicare for all, despite the additional taxes that would be incurred, would remain a superior and less expensive approach both for controlling healthcare costs but providing access to everyone.

Time for Honest Assessment

We as Americans, we need to tone down national pride. America's medical care isn't exceptional. The US places well below numerous nations with the best healthcare globally, according to major studies. Maybe one positive aspect amid present circumstances could be that we take serious examination at ourselves and acknowledge that big changes need to happen.