🔗 Share this article I'm a Hardcore Free-Market Advocate, But Universal Medicare Represents the Best Solution for US Health System Deductibles. Preferred providers. Out-of-network. Premium health services. Out-of-pocket expenses. Co-payment. Co-insurance. Insurance consultants. Coverage agents. Healthcare consultants. ACA. Health Maintenance Organization. PPO. Exclusive Provider Organization. POS. HDHP. Health Savings Account. FSA. Health Reimbursement Arrangement. EOB. COBRA. Small Business Health Options Program. Single coverage. Dependent coverage. Premium tax credits. Baffled? It's understandable. Who comprehends all this stuff? Certainly not the average business owner. Neither the average worker. Selecting the right healthcare insurance for companies – or for households – seems like demands a PhD in medical insurance. Our Medical System Is More Than Complex, It Is Costly According to recent research, typical households spends $27,000 annually on medical coverage (up 6% compared to last year). Typical company healthcare expense is expected to surpass $seventeen thousand per employee by 2026, an increase of 9.5% from 2025. Currently the government has ceased functioning due to partisan disputes regarding tax credits that experts say could cause a doubling of premiums for millions of Americans. When Might We Truly Examine Universal Healthcare? When will we seriously consider universal healthcare coverage here in America? I'm convinced we're getting closer because this can't continue. I'm not proposing government-run medicine. I'm advocating that our already existing Medicare program – an established insurance framework – merely extend to include all citizens. Our infrastructure remains intact. How our healthcare providers receive payment changes. Believe me, they'll adapt. The Way National Health Insurance Could Function A national health insurance program would need payments from employees and employers. In similar programs, an employee making average wages pays about five point three percent to their healthcare. Their employer pays about thirteen point seventy-five percent. Does this seem expensive? Unless you contrast that with what the typical US resident spends. I can name dozens of clients that are routinely paying anywhere from 8% to 15% of payroll costs for medical benefits. And keep in mind that in inclusive programs, those payments also cover pension plans, illness coverage, maternity leave and job loss protection along with funding medical services. When you add those costs compared with our current spending for our retirement plans, job loss coverage and vacation benefits, the gap narrows. Execution in the US For America, a national health premium would increase our Medicare tax deduction, a framework that is already in place. It ought to be means-based – wealthier individuals would pay more than those earning less. There would be both an employee and employer contribution. Similar to much of federal defense, technology, social programs and infrastructure, the system should be outsourced by private contractors instead of a government office. Benefits for Small Businesses Universal healthcare coverage would be a significant advantage for entrepreneurs like mine. It would put small companies in equal competition with our larger competitors that can pay for better plans. It would make management significantly simpler (a payroll deduction processed similarly to retirement and healthcare taxes, instead of separate payments to benefit firms and coverage administrators). It would enable simpler for us to budget annual expenditures, rather than enduring the complicated (and fruitless) theater of bargaining with the big insurance providers that we must do each year. Due to simplification, there would be a better understanding of coverage by our employees – as opposed to the current system where they have to interpret the complications of existing plans. And there would certainly be less liability for companies as we no longer have access to workers' health histories for purposes of risk assessment and different options. Free-Market Viewpoint I'm as pro-market as they get. But I've learned that government has a significant role in our lives, including national security to funding needed infrastructure. Ensuring medical coverage for everyone via universal healthcare strengthens our economy's infrastructure. It represents superior, easier system for entrepreneurs which hire more than half of American employees and generate half the economic output. It enables employees to be healthier, have better attendance and be more productive. Considering Challenges Are there a million considerations I'm not addressing? Of course there are. Given all the healthcare cost increases we've seen in recent years, it's clear that the Affordable Care Act isn't functioning very well. And I realize that we're not a small, Scandinavian country where major reforms are easier to implement. However extending universal Medicare, even with increased taxation that would be incurred, would remain a superior and less expensive approach both for controlling healthcare costs but providing access for all citizens. Need for Realistic Evaluation As Americans, must reduce national pride. America's medical care isn't exceptional. We rank significantly behind many other countries with the best healthcare globally, according to major studies. Maybe one bright spot in this present circumstances could be that we undertake a hard look at ourselves and acknowledge that major reforms are necessary.