Let’s call it “Fair Care.” It’s not difficult if we accept a few straightforward principles.

1. Everyone present in the United States should be included no matter why or how they are here.

2. The Social Security tax collection system can readily collect the needed revenues.

3. The same employee-employer sharing and self-employment concepts that now apply to Social Security can apply to Fair Care.

4. The age limits for Medicare eligibility are removed and it is made the universal default plan for all who don’t have something better.

5. The current Medicare Advantage opt-out plan is extended to include all employer, association, and union plans that qualify, so that all can have or continue private coverage if they wish.

That’s it in a nutshell. Sure, there are details that have to be worked out. The rules for Medicare Advantage opt-out plans are already well-established. Illegal immigrants can have contagious diseases. Let’s heal them to protect the rest of us and deal with their status separately.

Covering the cost is equally straightforward. Every year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (perhaps renamed Center for Fair Care) projects the cost for the coming year. That cost is then allocated across the Social Security tax base so that the Fair Care taxes collected are expected to cover the full cost for Fair Care in the ensuing year.