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Out-of-pocket costs. In-network. Out-of-network. Concierge medical services. Personal healthcare costs. Fixed payment. Shared insurance. Benefit advisers. Insurance brokers. Medical advisors. Affordable Care Act. HMO. PPO. EPO. Point of Service. High Deductible Health Plan. Health Savings Account. FSA. Health Reimbursement Arrangement. EOB. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. SHOP. Individual coverage. Dependent coverage. Premium tax credits.

Confused? It's understandable. Who comprehends all this stuff? Certainly not the average entrepreneur. Nor the typical worker. Selecting the right medical coverage for companies – or for households – appears to require it requires advanced expertise in healthcare.

Our Medical System Is More Than Complicated, It Is Costly

Based on a recent study, the average family pays $twenty-seven thousand each year for their health insurance (up 6% compared to last year). Typical employer health insurance cost is expected to exceed $seventeen thousand per employee in 2026, an increase of 9.5% from 2025.

Now the government has ceased functioning due to political disagreements over subsidies that experts say will lead to a doubling of premiums for millions of Americans.

When Will We Seriously Consider Universal Healthcare?

How soon might we genuinely evaluate universal healthcare coverage in the United States? I'm convinced we're approaching that point since this situation is unsustainable.

I'm not suggesting national healthcare. I'm proposing for our current Medicare system – an insurance system – merely extend to cover everyone. Our infrastructure doesn't change. How our healthcare providers get paid changes. Believe me, they'll adapt.

How National Health Insurance Could Function

Universal healthcare coverage would need contributions from employees and employers. In comparable systems, a worker making average wages must contribute about five point three percent toward medical coverage. Their employer pays about thirteen point seventy-five percent.

Does this appear expensive? Not if you contrast it to what average US resident spends. I can name multiple clients that are routinely paying between eight to fifteen percent of payroll costs for medical benefits. Remember that in comprehensive systems, those payments include retirement benefits, sick pay, parental benefits and unemployment benefits along with supporting healthcare facilities. When including these expenses compared with what we pay for our retirement plans, unemployment insurance and paid time off, the gap narrows.

Implementation for America

For America, a national health premium would raise existing Medicare taxes, a system 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 military, IT, social programs and infrastructure, the system could be managed to third-party administrators instead of federal agencies.

Advantages for Entrepreneurs

A national health insurance program represents a huge benefit 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 make management much easier (a payroll deduction remitted like social security and healthcare taxes, instead of individual transactions to benefit firms and coverage administrators).

It would make it easier for us to budget our yearly costs, rather than going through the complicated (and fruitless) process of bargaining with the big insurance providers that we must do each year. Due to simplification, there would exist a better understanding of coverage by our employees – contrasted with the current system 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 workers' medical records for purposes of risk assessment and alternative plans.

Capitalist Perspective

I'm as pro-market as they get. However I recognize that government has a significant role in our lives, including national security to supporting essential systems. Providing healthcare for everyone through a national insurance system strengthens economic foundations. It's a better, easier system for entrepreneurs that employ more than half of the country's workers and generate half of our GDP. It enables employees to enjoy better health, have better attendance and increase productivity.

Addressing Concerns

Exist a million considerations I'm not addressing? Of course there are. Given all the healthcare cost increases experienced in recent years, it's clear that the Affordable Care Act is not working very well. I understand that we're not a compact European nation where big changes are easier to implement. However extending Medicare for all, despite increased taxation required, would remain a better and less expensive strategy for not only controlling healthcare costs but providing access to everyone.

Need for Honest Assessment

As Americans, must reduce national pride. America's medical care isn't exceptional. The US places well below numerous nations in healthcare quality in the world, according to major studies. Perhaps a bright spot in this present circumstances is that we undertake a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge that major reforms need to happen.