national health Insurance

Republicans are right. Obamacare is not a good system. Democrats are right. Obamacare is better than anything solution the Republicans are offering, which is nothing.

Let’s get something straight. The American healthcare system is NOT the best in the world. We are 34thin infant mortality rate. Thirty-fourth! That is shameful. But at least we’re just ahead of Chile. We are 29th in life expectancy, just above Estonia. We are NOT healthier than other countries.

It gets even worse when you consider what we spend. We spend about $13,000 per person. The countries with lower infant mortality rates and longer life expectancy than the US spend between $4,500 and $6,000 per person. Therefore, for double the money than everyone else we get to be 34th and 29thbest. This is what Republican and Democratic leadership has brought us.

As the wealthiest country in the world, we should have the best healthcare in the world and pay the lowest prices. That should be our target.

Right now the best in the world is Taiwan. Taiwan delivers universal coverage, high satisfaction, and strong health outcomes at one of the lowest costs in the developed world, largely because of its efficient single-payer design and smart use of technology.

We can do even better. But it starts with single payer, National Health Insurance. Fortunately, we already have the infrastructure in place. It’s called Medicaid. That’s where we start. We improve that system, aiming to be the best in the world with the lowest costs and the best outcomes. 

Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done! We are America. We can do anything.

Two of the largest costs paid by American families are insurance and healthcare. Remember, insurance does not cover all the costs of healthcare. Families pay deductibles and co-pays. They pay out of pocket for care that is not covered. When it is all totaled, a family of four can expect to pay around $25,000/year in healthcare costs.  And if the Republicans have their way, that number will go way up.

In Taiwan, a family of four pays around $2,000. For better healthcare. Oh, and they built the system in less than a year.

Honestly, this is shameful.

We can do that. We SHOULD do that. If we can get to the moon in less than ten years, we can revamp Medicaid to be the equivalent or better of the Taiwanese system. The cost would be roughly $500 Billion, which is less than the cost of a single COVID relief package (there were six release packages, by the way). Oh, and thanks to the improved purchasing power and reduced overhead, it would pay for itself within ten years.

All it would take is reasonable, non-partisan leadership that caters to the 99.9998% of the country that are not billionaires. 

In return, a family of four would see their Expense Gap closed by $23,000.

A single-payer national health insurance system would likely reduce America’s overall healthcare costs by simplifying administration, negotiating better prices, and emphasizing prevention over crisis care.

Today, the U.S. spends nearly 18% of GDP on healthcare—twice the OECD average—driven largely by administrative waste, fragmented billing, and high drug prices. A single public insurer could cut $500–$600 billion annually by replacing thousands of private plans with one streamlined system. Hospitals and doctors would bill one payer, freeing resources from paperwork to patient care. Centralized purchasing power would allow the government to negotiate drug prices, as countries like Canada and Taiwan do, lowering prescription costs by 50% or more.

Universal coverage would eliminate uncompensated care for the uninsured, spread risk broadly, and enable early detection of chronic conditions that now become costly emergencies. Global hospital budgets would shift incentives from profit and volume to health outcomes.

Crucially, single-payer systems also produce better outcomes. Nations with universal coverage—such as Taiwan, Canada, and the U.K.—consistently achieve higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality, and better management of chronic disease, despite spending far less. Continuous access to preventive care reduces avoidable hospitalizations, and uniform national data enables faster public-health response. Patients see doctors sooner, adhere to treatment plans more consistently, and experience less financial stress—all key predictors of improved population health.

Businesses would benefit from removing employer insurance costs, families from predictable payroll-based contributions, and government from long-term spending control. Studies estimate total savings near $1 trillion per year—achieved through efficiency, not rationing—while improving equity, transparency, and outcomes.