Differing countries across the world set a variety of policies with respect to the medical care it affords its citizens. A number of countries ask citizens to pay for medical attention. This essay will highlight why governments should not be asking its people to pay for healthcare.
The first and most crucial reason as to why medical care and attention ought to be a free service provided by the government is, that every individual under the United Nations Bill of Rights has a right to be safe and healthy. This implies that the right to adequate medical attention is not a privilege but an inherent right awarded to every human. In fact, it is seen that in countries where the government enforces paid medical care, have a higher rate of poverty as well as unhapiness. An excellent case study to prove this argument can be seen in Norway, where healthcare is universal and therefore, free. Norway has consistently been ranked as the happiest country in the world, and therefore a direct relationship can be seen between healthcare affordability and happiness.
Secondly, it must be a government’s primary aim to ensure that the people under its jurisdiction live in prosperity. If a government forces its people to pay for medical attention, those with chronic illnesses often pull the short end of the stick, particularly those living below the poverty line. For example, the inventor of insulin (the medication used by diabetes patients to keep their condition in control) sold the product with the express condition that it would always be affordable. However, as time passed and the contract became null and void, pharmaceutical companies aided by the government inflated the price two hundred times. This means that those who desperately need the medication have to pay an extremely high price in order to save their lives. This extreme price gouging indicates that governments care more about making money than keeping its people safe.
Medical care and medicine is a basic human right, and it is the responsibility of the government in charge to provide this right for the people under their purview, without any terms and conditions.