Access to healthcare is essential for our quality of life and longevity. But healthcare doesn't come cheap. Should individuals be forced to pay their own healthcare costs? Is healthcare an inalienable human right? What are the pros and cons of free healthcare?
No, healthcare shouldn't be free
The individual should be financially responsible for the services they use. This encourages them to make better health decisions, increases the quality of the health system, and leave the government with more money to spend on other things that matter.
Free healthcare leaves the healthiest footing the bill
Under a taxpayer-funded health system, the healthiest foot the bill for the unhealthiest.
Free healthcare disincentivizes making good choices
Under a health system that is free at the point of use, there is no financial incentive to make good health choices. It runs the risk of people seeking out danger because they will be taken care of it anything goes wrong.
Free healthcare may create sedentary and irresponsible lifestyle
Humans would be living without taking care of their health since complementary health services are always available. Therefore, the awareness of being active in living healthily may be taken away.
First-world countries with universal centralized or 2-tier healthcare tend to spend less money Per Capita and achieve better personal care, lower infant mortality and longer lifespans than those with just private healthcare.
Free healthcare has proven to work in many countries
Most developed countries provide free healthcare to their citizens. Free healthcare has been proven to work based on several metrics such as treatment costs, average hospital stay, and readmission rates.
Healthcare is never free. Someone always has to pay for it. The only debate at play is who should pay for it.
Free healthcare is never "free"
There is no such thing as "free" healthcare. Scarce economic resources means someone or the collective society is paying for that resource (in this case, medical services) to be provided for the people.
