Imagine that a little girl living in a remote village is suffering from asthma. There is no hospital around and even if there is, her family can not afford it. Then, think of this question: Is it fair to give everyone free healthcare? I think it is. Right now, 72 countries in the world are giving universal healthcare.1 Here are some of the reasons why more countries should implement it.
First, health is fundamental to our lives. Without health, our lives would be painful and torturous due to diseases. Universal healthcare could let people care more about their health and helps them detect diseases earlier, raising the chance of them being cured and be less painful. For example, cancer often develops into late stages because people don’t get enough health checkups.
Second, people living in poverty deserve equal opportunities to thrive in society. The core objective of universal healthcare is to safeguard people's rights to have equitable access to health services without financial hardship. As the World Health Organization (WHO) states, “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.”2 The society has a moral obligation to ensure that all individuals can access necessary healthcare services, regardless of their income, or social-economic status. Many people died of diseases because they can’t pay for the expensive surgeries or medicine, leaving their family living in pain and remorse every day. Seeing these people in pain might tear apart our community, leading to more severe problems.
By giving free healthcare universally, we can reduce inequality. People living in outlying areas either have no access to hospitals or can’t afford to pay for them, and many people are forced to live with painful diseases until death. Universal healthcare can dramatically increase life quality for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled, giving them more chances to change their lives without financial burden. In this sense, universal healthcare isn’t just fair, it is a moral imperative.
Some people worry that universal healthcare would lead to a rise in taxes or reallocation in funds from other places, and they may argue that since healthy people don’t have a responsibility to pay for sick ones, so it is unfair to implement universal healthcare. However, many illnesses cannot be prevented by any individual person alone, thus we have a collective responsibility for societal health.
The long-term effect of universal healthcare also outweighs the concerns for the extra financial burden. Universal healthcare is usually achieved through a multi-party sharing mechanism, which precisely and efficiently allocates resources, so that the society can afford the financial burden. In addition, with universal healthcare, people would go for health checkups earlier with light symptoms or simply just for prevention, leading to lower overall healthcare costs in the long run. Universal healthcare can also result in a healthier and less anxious workforce, which increases productivity and lifts economic growth; in turn, there would be more taxes contributing to universal healthcare, creating a virtuous cycle.
Many countries that have adopted universal healthcare systems—such as Norway, Sweden, and Japan—consistently report higher health outcomes compared to countries without such systems.3The practices in these countries prove that universal healthcare is not just a policy; it is a reflection of a society’s values and commitment to caring for all its people.
Finally, the development of technology and AI has provided new opportunities for optimizing universal healthcare. AI doctors would be available 24/7 giving medical advices to anyone in need. Surgical robots would perform surgeries, and so would 3D bioprinters print biological tissues and human organs for medical use, etc. These technological advancements will make universal healthcare more efficient and more sustainable in the future.
In conclusion, universal healthcare is fair and beneficial for our society. The United Nations is advocating for universal health coverage for all of its members by 2030.4 As technology and AI develops, we would see more and more countries implement universal healthcare systems.
Authors
Peihan Lu born in 2011, formerly attended Nanshan Foreign Language School (Group) Wenhua School and is currently a 9th-grade student at Dipont KCS International High School (Zhonghui Campus). She also studies part-time at the American-based Astra Nova School. Her interests include reading, music, painting, and writing, with a particular passion for reading original sci-fi novels and popular science content. In 5th grade, she scored 885 on the TOEFL Junior exam, and in February, she achieved a score of 135 on the Duolingo English Test.
Yu Bai a teacher at Dipont KCS International High School (Zhonghui Campus), specializes in delivering bilingual visual arts international curricula and possesses extensive experience in interdisciplinary integration and project-based teaching. Skilled at guiding students to develop critical thinking and multi-media expression abilities through artistic creation and theoretical analysis, she excels at inspiring creative potential. Her teaching emphasizes the incorporation of global cultural and social issues, and she has successfully mentored students whose works were selected for international art exhibitions. Additionally, she has helped many students gain admission to top-tier art institutions.
