The debate surrounding whether healthcare bills should be paid by government or individuals themselves is pertinent and multifaceted. In this essay, I will discuss both standpoints before presenting my own point of view.
Many people advocate for governmental provision of free healthcare as a fundamental human right, since without being healthy, life is unsustainable and so hollow that cannot be lived in the way it is intended for. Firstly, under such a mode, every citizen, irrespective of their socio-economical strata, has access to medical treatments, which serves as a manifestation of social equality to the right to be healthy. Secondly, without money being a major concern, individuals are therefore free from both the psychological intimidation stemming from costly medical bills, which discourages them from attending to personal conditions timely before it is too late and rejection from unaffordable medical treatments, especially for those who are seriously ill or disadvantaged, thereby significantly increasing social happiness. In short, free health by public expenditure weaves a safety net for its people which not only secures the right to life, also improves wellbeing of the general public as a whole.
However, supporters of self-paid medical treatment look to the quality service brought by it. When people pay for their own healthcare bills, to some extent, medical treatment is a service to be purchased instead of a granted right and therefore can be commercialized. As a result, medical entities are engaged in competitions in terms of service quality, standard of healthcare and even prices, contributing considerably to the consistent improvements to patient experience by providing sufficient proficient staff and medical facilities, as opposed to the common and persistent phenomena such as long waiting hours and inadequate medical workforce in free healthcare system, which is subject to limited budgeted funds. Moreover, self-paid mode also assists in raising people’s awareness of health, advocating people taking care of their physical condition as much as their personal financial condition, such as adoption of preventatives and a healthy lifestyle. This, in turn, avoids a waste of medical resources resulting from citizens taking free treatments for granted.
In conclusion, both systems boast their advantages and entail inevitable disadvantages inherently and respectively, which are complementary to each other. The consistent pursuit of better healthcare can only be achieved by a strategic approach that combine the responsibilities of both government and individuals.