Should healthcare be free?

Free healthcare prevents financial exploitation

Question: Should healthcare be free?
Position‹2 of 3›: Yes, healthcare should be free
Argument‹8 of 8: Free healthcare prevents financial exploitation

If medical professionals can charge consumers directly it creates the perfect conditions for exploitation.

The argument

If you know nothing about cars and you go to a mechanic for assistance, you are more likely to be ripped off. The same logic applies to healthcare. Doctors study for many years to become experts in human anatomy and illnesses. It is unrealistic to expect the general public to know enough about medicine to protect themselves from financial exploitation. The public will always be at a disadvantage. Some people will inevitably exploit this disadvantage for financial benefit.

Context

Any business that involves a substantial knowledge gap between the consumer and the provider is vulnerable to exploitative practices. There is a substantial knowledge gap between doctors and patients in the medical profession. This leaves patients vulnerable to exploitation.

Premises

[P1]Just as someone ignorant of cars is likely to be overcharged by a mechanic, ordinary patients cannot realistically match the years of specialist knowledge doctors acquire. [P2] This permanent knowledge asymmetry leaves the public at a disadvantage, and some providers will inevitably exploit it for financial gain. [C] Because free healthcare removes the profit motive that enables this exploitation, healthcare should be free.

Counter-arguments

A free health system does not automatically protect against exploitation. The margin for exploitation remains, and potentially increases. Under a publicly funded health system, the doctor or medical professional can still bill the government for unnecessary treatments. The government will then pay for unnecessary treatment from tax revenue. This revenue comes from the public purse, and the financial costs fall on the population at-large. If the patient isn't paying for the treatment they are receiving out of pocket, they are likely to be less vigilant to unnecessary or duplicate treatments. Therefore, the margin for exploitation could increase.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] Healthcare provided to patients free at the point of use does not necessarily remove profit from the industry.