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Deductibles. Preferred providers. Non-preferred providers. Concierge medical services. Personal healthcare costs. Fixed payment. Co-insurance. Benefit advisers. Insurance brokers. Healthcare consultants. ACA. HMO. Preferred Provider Organization. EPO. POS. HDHP. HSA. FSA. HRA. Explanation of Benefits. COBRA. Small Business Health Options Program. Individual coverage. Dependent coverage. Insurance subsidies.

Baffled? It's understandable. Who understands all this stuff? Not the typical entrepreneur. Nor the typical employee. Choosing the appropriate healthcare insurance for companies – or for households – appears to require it requires a PhD in healthcare.

Our Medical System Is More Than Complicated, It's Expensive

According to a recent study, the average family pays $twenty-seven thousand each year on medical coverage (increasing by 6% compared to last year). The average company healthcare expense is projected to surpass $17,000 per employee by 2026, a 9.5% jump compared to 2025.

Currently federal operations is shut down due to partisan disputes regarding tax credits which analysts predict will lead to premium increases up to 100% for numerous US citizens.

When Might We Seriously Consider National Health Insurance?

When will we seriously consider a national health insurance program here in America? I have to believe we're approaching that point since this can't continue.

I'm not suggesting national healthcare. I'm advocating that our already existing Medicare program – an established insurance framework – simply expand to include all citizens. Our infrastructure remains intact. The way medical professionals get paid changes. Believe me, they will adjust.

How Universal Coverage Could Function

Universal healthcare coverage would require contributions from both employees and employers. In comparable systems, an employee making moderate income must contribute approximately 5.3% to their healthcare. 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 know multiple businesses that are routinely paying between eight to fifteen percent of their employee wages to their healthcare costs. And keep in mind that with comprehensive systems, those payments also cover pension plans, sick pay, maternity leave and unemployment benefits in addition to funding medical services. When you add these expenses compared with what we pay for our retirement plans, unemployment insurance and paid time off, the difference decreases.

Execution for America

In the US, universal healthcare funding would raise existing Medicare taxes, a system already established. It should be means-based – those at higher income levels would pay more than lower-income earners. There would be both worker and company payments. Similar to much of federal defense, technology, social programs and infrastructure, the system could be managed to third-party administrators instead of a government office.

Advantages for Entrepreneurs

A national health insurance program represents a significant advantage for small businesses such as my company. It would place us on a level playing field with our larger competitors that can pay for superior coverage. It would make management much easier (automatic payroll withholding remitted like retirement and Medicare taxes, rather than separate payments to benefit firms and coverage administrators).

It would enable it easier for us to budget annual expenditures, instead of enduring the complicated (and fruitless) process of negotiating with major insurers that we must do every year. Because it's simplified, there would exist a better understanding about benefits among workers – as opposed to the current system where they have to decipher the complexities of existing plans. And there would certainly be reduced responsibility for employers as we no longer have access to our employees' medical records for purposes of weighing risks and different options.

Free-Market Viewpoint

I'm as capitalist as they get. However I recognize that government play important functions in our lives, from providing defense to funding needed infrastructure. Providing healthcare for everyone through a national insurance system strengthens our economy's infrastructure. It represents superior, easier system for entrepreneurs that employ more than half of the country's workers and generate half the economic output. It makes it possible for workers to enjoy better health, come to work more often and be more productive.

Addressing Concerns

Exist a million considerations I haven't covered? Of course there are. But with all the healthcare cost increases experienced in recent years, it's evident that the Affordable Care Act is not working very well. And I realize that America isn't a compact European nation where major reforms are easier to implement. However extending Medicare for all, even with the additional taxes that would be incurred, would still be a superior and less expensive strategy for not only controlling healthcare costs but providing access for all citizens.

Need for Honest Assessment

We as Americans, we need to tone down national pride. America's medical care isn't so great. The US places well below many other countries in healthcare quality in the world, based on major studies. Maybe one bright spot amid current situation could be that we take a hard look in the mirror and acknowledge that major reforms need to happen.