There is a popular saying that goes, “health is wealth”, and it is succinct in its summation of life. Without health, it is impossible to live a full and satisfying life, as the societal relevance of a person is intricately woven into their capacity to produce or add value. In terms of national life, the gross domestic product per capita of any nation provides insight into the productivity of its citizenry. Hence, the importance of government intervention in the health sector. The cardinal responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property, while creating an enabling environment for the economic prosperity of her people. This cannot be achieved without the provision of quality healthcare, and health services are not cheap. From training physicians to building and equipping facilities, the costs are humongous. Allowing citizens pay, completely out of pocket, for healthcare services is not feasible, particularly because not every person can afford it. In fact, the majority, which constitute the middle and lower class of society, are seldom capable of paying for the best possible care, so they rather settle for what is affordable.
If the objective is to evolve an egalitarian society, where equity and justice is paramount, then government must play an important role in healthcare provision and delivery. I do not support a completely free healthcare regime, as this is not sustainable in the long run. Notwithstanding, there are multiple mechanisms through which the government can substantially reduce or even eliminate the costs associated with access to quality healthcare. For example, running a robust national health insurance scheme, and making it compulsory for all citizens can go a long way in maximizing the concept of resource pooling. Everyone in the country contributes to the scheme based on what they earn, then when they fall ill or require care they get either full coverage or partial coverage of their medical bills subject to the specifications of the law that governs the scheme. Another example is the implementation of subsidies target key areas of the medical facility and clinical care delivery chain poised to generate the highest cost, thereby reducing medical bills for everyone. Additionally government can offer scholarships to medical students, conditionalizing their eligibility of the offer on their accepting to work for some time at subsidized rates, to reduce the personnel costs of the facility where they have been posted to.
In conclusion, free healthcare, in my opinion is a mirage; it is an unsustainable option, and will only create economic problem in the future. On the other, out of pocket payment of medical bills is also unacceptable; The only reasonable choice is striking balance between the two by leveraging policy and administrative tools to reduce medical cost.