Medical debt is a serious problem in this country (and this country alone when discussing developed countries). I am moderately conservative and believe in the market economy. The theory on market economies revolves around voluntary interactions between buyer and seller. Having said that, If someone gets cancer, or gets into an accident, the financial implications can ruin their life for years (if not decades). It leaves people devastated. When it comes to accumulating over, as an example, $15k in medical costs in one year, that moves beyond “voluntary interactions” in a market economy. It becomes, essentially, a mandatory interaction. I would personally support a federal “sales” tax to fund this. Not a VAT tax, and not funded from income tax revenues. I don’t know the specifics, but theoretically, a penny tax on every $100 dollars would generate an enormous amount of funds. This would also entail everyone is funding this insurance coverage and not just those with an income that’s reported. Another benefit should be that private health insurance will be much more affordable since the insurance companies wouldn’t have to cover costs above $15k for any one patient. People would then be able to afford private insurance for every day medical needs / preventative medicine.
People don’t mind a tax if they know what it’s for and it truly makes a positive difference. This policy would ensure people won’t suffer from an unforeseen, and unavoidable situation. I live in a very conservative (very red) County, and this isn’t a radical idea even in this area. Even people that have upper middle-class incomes are hurt by high medical costs when unforeseen health scares arise. People have evolved on this issue, and I think now is the ideal time to address this. Especially since Trump is working across party lines by working with RFK Jr and Tulsi Gabbard.