Good health is a basic human need Some people think that healthcare services should be provided by the government rather than by private companies Do you agree or disagree

As health care tends to be closely related virtually to every individual’s own interests, the choice of its provider, the government or private companies, has sparked prevalent debate. While I believe there is some truth in both choices, the former is likely to yield greater benefits for the majority and the society as a whole.

Undeniably, a variety of advantages would be generated through setting up a public healthcare system providing people with more well-rounded and less expensive medical services. Firstly, this practice can alleviate citizens’ burden of increasing expenditure on medical treatment for various diseases, especially those chronic diseases like asthma or arthritis requiring long-term treatment and lead to a great deal of healthcare cost. However, with up to 70 per cent or higher proportion of their medical fees covered by authorities, patients would have more disposable income for other items and feel a strong sense of security and well-being. Secondly, a unified medical care system is more capable of optimizing the use of medical resources and avoiding redundant waste, which is commonplace to be seen in some private hospitals, for example, where wealthy patients tend to occupy fancy wards and experienced caregivers unnecessarily. At but not least, it is reasonable to require the government to allocate taxes levied from individuals to projects benefit them. Furthermore, in the process of fulfilling its obligation, government typically build a favorable reputation and an image of caring.

However, compared with private healthcare services offered by companies, public medical system may be criticized for its inefficiency and inflexibility in some countries with large populations. Some may oppose establishing public healthcare and advocating allowing private companies to provide medical services on this ground. However, this argument fails to recognize the nature of private corporations: constantly pursuing the maximum profit at the lowest possible cost, which means that the price of medicine and treatment would surge to a level that cannot be reached by relatively impoverished people like laid-off workers or the elderly. Accordingly, this may aggravate the disparity between rich and poor, the resentment of citizens against the government, and eventually, lead to severe political and economic instability across the whole society.

In summary, promoting a healthcare service system is a complicated issue associated with various considerable impacts on individuals and the society; hence it is worth comprehensive considerations. In the best interests of the majority, setting up the medical system by government appears to be the more preferable and desirable choice in practice.