Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Should healthcare be free?
Position1 of 3
No, healthcare shouldn't be free
Argument4 of 6

Free healthcare is unnecessary

Free healthcare isn't necessary when most people can already afford to pay for their healthcare.

The argument

Many education ministries offer scholarships to students that cannot afford to pay university fees themselves. Those that can afford to pay the fees are not entitled to these forms of assistance. Why should healthcare be any different? Those that can afford to pay for their own healthcare should be made to do so. Free healthcare should only be made available to those that really need it and lack the resources to finance it themselves.

Context

The government should not have to pay for services that people can afford to pay for themselves. The government’s publicly funded healthcare system should only be available to those who cannot afford it themselves.

Premises

[P1]Just as education scholarships go only to students who cannot afford fees—while those who can afford them pay—healthcare assistance should be reserved for those who genuinely need it. [P2] People who can afford their own healthcare should be made to pay for it, so making it free for them is unnecessary. [C] Healthcare should not be free for everyone, because free healthcare is unnecessary for those who can pay.

Counter-arguments

Education is not a necessary precondition for survival. Good health is. The government should provide its citizens with the necessary resources for survival free of charge. They should provide access to clean water and air for free. They should also provide access to healthcare for free. Without our health, we cannot survive.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Governments should provide services that protect our basic right to existence for free.