Why should we have free health care?
Asked by: Lester Mann | Last update: September 17, 2025Score: 4.6/5 (7 votes)
Why should free healthcare be a 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.
Why does healthcare need to be free?
The goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is to ensure everyone receives the health services they need without facing financial hardship. Viewing health as an investment rather than an expense can unlock human capital and economic dividends for countries.
What are the benefits 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.
Why should we have affordable health care?
Affordability impacts whether people can get the care they need, like insulin to manage their diabetes or following up on a mammogram. If those are too costly, people will delay or skip care, which has significant impacts down the line on both health outcomes and cost.
Would Universal Healthcare Really Work in the U.S.?
Why is paying for healthcare important?
Health insurance provides important financial protection in case you have a serious accident or sickness. People without health coverage are exposed to these costs. This can sometimes lead people without coverage into deep debt or even into bankruptcy.
What are the pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act?
The pros of the ACA include prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on health history and providing subsidies to reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The cons of the ACA include small business challenges and limited provider options in some regions.
What would happen if we have free healthcare?
Universal health care, it was estimated, could have saved 212,000 lives in 2020 alone. Today, however, market-based US health care continues to be a global flagship for the neoliberal economic model and its entrenched inequities. The tentacles of economic neoliberalism reach deep into health systems around the world.
Why is healthcare important to society?
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 does free healthcare promote equality?
Universal access to health and universal health coverage imply that all people and communities have access, without any kind of discrimination, to comprehensive, appropriate and timely, quality health services determined at the national level according to needs, as well as access to safe, effective, and affordable ...
Why is access to healthcare important?
Why Is Access to Care Important to Health? Together, health insurance, local care options, and a usual source of care help to ensure access to health care. Having access to care allows individuals to enter the health care system, find care easily and locally, pay for care, and get their health needs met.
Why is healthcare a social issue?
Social issues in healthcare refer to health issues that a person or group of people will need to evaluate due to their unique situation, which includes their personal beliefs, values, and traditions. Because each person is so different, they will approach healthcare differently.
How does poverty affect healthcare?
For example, people with limited finances may have more difficulty obtaining health insurance or paying for expensive procedures and medications. In addition, neighborhood factors, such as limited access to healthy foods and higher instances of violence, can affect health by influencing health behaviors and stress.
Why healthcare needs to be free?
It would make our country a better place with a better economy and prevent the spread of diseases. Healthcare is a right that people deserve to obtain. It would make people feel a sense of equality and would help end suffering in many such as the homeless and middle and lower class people.
What countries don't have free healthcare?
With notably high healthcare costs, the USA provides government programmes to help the disabled, old people and other vulnerable demographics. Other countries with no free healthcare include Nigeria, Yemen, South Africa, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.
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.
Why is free healthcare good?
Protecting people from the financial consequences of paying for health services out of their own pockets reduces the risk that people will be pushed into poverty because the cost of needed services and treatments requires them to use up their life savings, sell assets, or borrow – destroying their futures and often ...
What are three reasons why healthcare is important?
Health care is a fundamental human good because it affects our opportunity to pursue life goals, reduces our pain and suffering, helps prevent premature loss of life, and provides information needed to plan for our lives.
Why is lack of healthcare a problem?
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 is free healthcare a human right?
The right to health for all people means that everyone should have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without suffering financial hardship. No one should get sick and die just because they are poor, or because they cannot access the health services they need.
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 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.
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.
Why should we keep the Affordable Care Act?
By making health coverage more affordable and accessible and thus increasing the number of Americans with coverage, by funding community-based public health and prevention programs, and by supporting research and tracking on key health measures, the ACA will begin to reduce disparities, enhance access to preventive ...
How can our health care system as a whole be improved?
- Collect Data and Analyze Patient Outcomes. If you can't measure it, then you can't manage it. ...
- Set Goals and Commit to Ongoing Evaluation. ...
- Improve Access to Care. ...
- Focus on Patient Engagement. ...
- Connect and Collaborate With Other Organizations.