By Sumire Sato
Are All People Entitled to Free Health Care? Medical expense and unavoidable, because everyone get sick, and it costs a lot. There are a few countries where medical expenses are free. For example, it is Denmark. However, is it a good idea to receive to free health care. I will mention that someone negative dimensions of free health care
The first point is the cost. If people can get treatment free, eventually, they would need to pay some money in other ways such as tax. Denmark is one of a county where people can receive medical treatment with no fee. But when we look at the terms of tax, it is not cheap. For instance, the consumption tax in Denmark is 25 % (in 2022). Japan has 10% consumption tax, so when we compare with them one, Japanese consumption tax is not expensive. People can get medical treatment with free, but they suffer from high consumption tax.
The second point is people’s motivation for staying healthy. If all people can get free medical treatment, someone may neglect to care about their health, because it is free to get treated. When we look at oral care, according to an online research, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (2022), about 2 % of people 20 to 64 have no teeth. In addition, almost 90 % of adults 20 to 64 have had tooth decay before. There are already a lot of patients. If all people can get free treatment, more and more people will neglect to care about their tooth.
The last point is facilities. If people can take free medical care, it may bring some problem in terms of medical facilities or supplies. According to online survey, Statista (2022), the total national medical costs is approximately 44.4 trillion Japanese yen. From now, these costs are burdened by the public, so government can supply medical services. However, if all these costs are not paid by the people, more and more people will need medical supplies and hospitals will be very crowded.
I mentioned about free medical care with three negative points, cost, people motivation, and facilities. It seems to be very good attractive for people to get free medical care, but there are some problems like tax increase, losing motivation to stay healthy and the lack of medical supplies and facilities. It is helpful if people can get some financial support, losing but free medical care for all is not a good policy.
References
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (2022).https://Dental Caries (Tooth Decay) in Adults (Ages 20 to 64 Years) | National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (nih.gov)
Statista (2022).https://Japan: national medical care expenditure per capita | Statista
Trading economics (2022). https://Denmark Sales Statista (2022). https://Tax Rate – VAT – 2022 Data – 2023 Forecast – 2000-2021 Historical (tradingeconomics.com)
