What would happen if we had free healthcare?

Asked by: Camylle Bechtelar  |  Last update: September 11, 2025
Score: 4.5/5 (15 votes)

Universal single-payer healthcare is fundamental to pandemic preparedness. We determined that such a system could have saved 211,897 lives in 2020 alone. Strikingly, it would have done so at lower cost than the current healthcare system, saving the US $459 billion in 2020 at a time of economic tumult.

What happens if healthcare becomes free?

This shift to single-payer healthcare would provide the greatest relief to lower-income households. Furthermore, we estimate that ensuring healthcare access for all Americans would save over 68,000 lives and 1.73 million life-years every year.

What would happen to the economy if healthcare was free?

Implementing universal coverage through a single-payer system is projected to reduce health spending in the state by $37.5 billion annually, from the present $368.5 billion down to $331 billion.

Why should we have free healthcare?

UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE PROMOTES WELL-BEING.

The poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of preventable mother and child deaths, infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and non-communicable diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

What are the negatives of free healthcare?

Universal healthcare provides medical care to all citizens of a nation regardless of their ability to pay. Proponents of universal healthcare say it increases equality in a society and provides more affordable care. Critics say it can increase waiting times to get care or may lower the quality of healthcare.

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What would happen if healthcare was free for cons?

Con 3: Universal health care would increase wait times for basic care and make Americans' health worse. Read More.

What are the effects of lack of healthcare?

Lack of health insurance coverage may negatively affect health. Uninsured adults are less likely to receive preventive services for chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Why should free healthcare be a human right?

The very frailty of our human lives demands that we protect this right as a public good. Universal health care is crucial to the ability of the most marginalized segments of any population to live lives of dignity. Without our health we—literally—do not live, let alone live with dignity.

What country has free healthcare?

All but 43 countries in the world have free healthcare or access to universal healthcare for at least 90% of their citizens according to Hudson's Global Residence Index. However, Brazil is the only country in the world that offers free healthcare for all its citizens.

Why do we need healthcare?

High-quality health care helps prevent diseases and improve quality of life. Healthy People 2030 focuses on improving health care quality and making sure all people get the health care services they need. Helping health care providers communicate more effectively can help improve health and well-being.

How would free healthcare help the poor?

Poverty-Reducing Effects of Public Health Insurance. By reducing the financial burden and risk of medical spending, public health insurance has the potential to reduce the extent to which families live in poverty, as defined using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).

Why does the US still not have free healthcare?

Groups with significant economic resources have long been opposed to universal health insurance. We have a political system so sophisticated about finding the middle ground that we have had long periods in which the parties have been essentially even in their control of power in the national government.

What would happen if Medicare ended?

But older folks would lose big; after all, their work and savings decisions had long assumed they could rely on Medicare as they aged. They would have to sell their assets and spend their savings to finance their health care, and their consumption levels would drop.

Do people with free healthcare live longer?

Conclusion: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a comprehensive health system approach that facilitates a wide range of health services and significantly improves the life expectancy at birth and healthy life expectancy.

What happens if you stop paying for healthcare?

If you don't pay all owed premiums, you may lose your coverage dating back to the first month you missed the premium payment. You may also have to wait to get health coverage. The 3-month premium payment grace period starts the first month you didn't pay, even if you make payments for the following months.

What country has the best healthcare?

According to the 2024 Mirror, Mirror report, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have the best healthcare systems, though the differences in overall performance among most countries are relatively small.

What are the pros and cons of free healthcare?

Here are some of the key arguments for and against universal health care.
  • Pro: a healthier society. ...
  • Con: longer wait times. ...
  • Pro: people over profit. ...
  • Con: fairness vs freedom. ...
  • Pro: control over costs. ...
  • Con: limited budgets.

Why is healthcare so expensive?

There are many factors that contribute to the high cost of healthcare in the country including wasteful systems, rising drug costs, medical professional salaries, profit-driven healthcare centers, types of medical practices, and health-related pricing.

What country has the least health care?

Based on our findings, here are the 25 countries with the worst healthcare systems:
  • Madagascar. Insider Monkey Score: 22.2. ...
  • Haiti. Insider Monkey Score: 20.8. ...
  • Republic Of Congo. Insider Monkey Score: 18.8. ...
  • Niger. Insider Monkey Score: 18.7. ...
  • Papua New Guinea. Insider Monkey Score: 17.8. ...
  • Afghanistan. ...
  • Mozambique. ...
  • Liberia.

Should we have free health care?

The American College of Physicians says that the United States needs a healthcare system that provides care for everyone, either through a universal health insurance system, such as the UK NHS, or through a pluralistic system that involves the government and private organisations.

What are the five most important human rights?

These include the right to life, the right to a fair trial, freedom from torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the rights to health, education and an adequate standard of living.

How many Americans are uninsured?

The Share of Americans Without Health Insurance in 2023 Remained Low. In 2023, 26 million people — or 8 percent of the population — were uninsured, according to a report in September 2024 from the Census Bureau.

What would happen without healthcare?

Context: Uninsured adults have less access to recommended care, receive poorer quality of care, and experience worse health outcomes than insured adults do.

How many deaths are caused by lack of healthcare?

California (3,164 deaths), Texas (2,955 deaths), Florida (2,272 deaths), New York (1,247 deaths), and Georgia (1,161 deaths) (Table 3). Source: Families USA calculations based on estimates by the Institute of Medicine. Table 1. Source: Families USA calculations based on estimates by the Institute of Medicine.

What are the negative effects of not having free healthcare?

The Medi-Cal program plays a critical role in helping families achieve a basic level of resources. In the absence of Medi-Cal, poverty among young children could increase from 7 percent to 16.9 percent. For adults age 45 to 64, poverty could increase from 13.1 percent to 19.3 percent.