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Deductibles. Preferred providers. Non-preferred providers. Premium health services. Personal healthcare costs. Fixed payment. Shared insurance. Benefit advisers. Coverage agents. Medical advisors. Affordable Care Act. HMO. Preferred Provider Organization. EPO. Point of Service. High Deductible Health Plan. HSA. Flexible Spending Account. Health Reimbursement Arrangement. Explanation of Benefits. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Small Business Health Options Program. Individual coverage. Family coverage. Premium tax credits.

Confused? You should be. Who understands all this stuff? Certainly not the average business owner. Nor the typical employee. Choosing the right healthcare insurance for our business – or for our families – seems like it requires advanced expertise in medical insurance.

The Medical System Is More Than Complex, It Is Costly

Based on recent research, typical households spends $twenty-seven thousand annually on medical coverage (up 6% from last year). The average employer health insurance cost is expected to exceed $seventeen thousand per employee in 2026, a 9.5% jump from 2025.

Now the government has ceased functioning because partisan disputes regarding tax credits which analysts predict will lead to premium increases up to 100% for numerous US citizens.

When Will We Seriously Consider National Health Insurance?

When will we genuinely evaluate a national health insurance program in the United States? I'm convinced we're getting closer because this can't continue.

I'm not suggesting government-run medicine. I'm advocating for our current Medicare program – an established insurance framework – merely extend to include all citizens. The existing system remains intact. How our healthcare providers receive payment changes. Believe me, they will adjust.

How National Health Insurance Could Function

A national health insurance program would require payments from employees and employers. In comparable systems, a worker making average wages must contribute approximately five point three percent toward medical coverage. Their employer must contribute approximately thirteen point seventy-five percent.

Does this seem expensive? Unless you compare it to what the typical US resident spends. I know dozens of clients that are routinely paying between 8% to 15% of their employee wages to their healthcare costs. Remember that with comprehensive systems, those payments also cover pension plans, sick pay, parental benefits and unemployment benefits along with funding healthcare facilities. When you add those costs versus what we pay for our retirement plans, unemployment insurance and vacation benefits, the gap narrows.

Implementation for America

For America, universal healthcare funding would increase our Medicare tax deduction, a system that is already in place. It ought to be income-adjusted – wealthier individuals would contribute higher amounts than lower-income earners. This includes both worker and company payments. Similar to many our government's military, IT, welfare services and transportation services, the program could be managed to third-party administrators rather than a government office.

Benefits for Small Businesses

A national health insurance program represents a huge benefit for entrepreneurs like mine. It would place us on a level playing field against big corporations that can pay for superior coverage. It would render management significantly simpler (automatic payroll withholding processed similarly to retirement and Medicare taxes, instead of individual transactions to benefit firms and coverage administrators).

It would make simpler to plan expenses our yearly costs, rather than enduring the complex (and ineffective) theater of negotiating with the big insurance providers that we must do each year. Due to simplification, there would be a better understanding of coverage among workers – contrasted with the current system where they have to interpret the complications of current options. Additionally there would certainly be reduced responsibility for companies since we wouldn't would be privy to workers' medical records for purposes of weighing risks and different options.

Capitalist Perspective

I'm as capitalist as possible. But I've learned that public institutions play important functions in society, including national security to supporting essential systems. Providing healthcare to all through a national insurance system enhances economic foundations. It's a better, simpler approach for small businesses that employ more than half of American employees and generate half the economic output. It makes it possible employees to enjoy better health, come to work more often and be more productive.

Considering Challenges

Exist numerous factors I haven't covered? Of course there are. But with all the healthcare cost increases we've seen recently, it's clear that the Affordable Care Act isn't functioning very well. I understand that we're not a small, Scandinavian country where big changes can be readily adopted. But expanding universal Medicare, even with increased taxation required, would still be a superior and less expensive strategy both for managing medical expenses but providing access to everyone.

Need for Realistic Evaluation

As Americans, must tone down our own arrogance. America's medical care isn't exceptional. The US places significantly behind many other countries with the best healthcare globally, according to major studies. Perhaps a positive aspect in this current situation could be that we undertake a hard look at ourselves and acknowledge that major reforms need to happen.