Should healthcare be free in the United States?

Question

OneViewpoint · Accepted Answer

As Aviator Tom already stated, the notion of healthcare being free is ridiculous. Free anything doesn't exist. The question becomes how a civilized society makes healthcare available to everyone and how it is paid for.

Sadly our privatized healthcare system in the USA is a shining example of why healthcare for profit is a disgusting example of human greed and inefficiency. There are multiple middle men between patient and caregiver, all wanting a piece of the profits.

Corporations buying insurance for employees and trying to keep costs down.
Every insurance company has it's own network of doctors and hospitals. Every time a company changes health insurance there is the possibility of people losing their doctor or preferred hospital. It can be very disruptive.
Insurance companies charging premiums for coverage then denying claims so the CEO can reach an incentive bonus tied to profits.
100 different billing systems that doctors, clinics, and hospitals are forced to deal with. That adds administrative staff and slows things down.
Brokers (consultants) advising corporations on healthcare insurance for a fee.
Reinsurance companies where insurance companies buy risk coverage for the policies they sell to corporations and individuals.
The pharmaceutical industry is out there buying votes in the House and Senate to keep profits high.
PBM's, Pharmacy Benefit Managers sit between Big Pharma and Insurers to broker deals on drugs. What results is 200 different prices for the same drug.
Courts and arbitrators overwhelmed with lawsuits and litigation over medical debt or sleazy insurance companies trying to wait out dying customers to make the problem go away.

And yet our IQ challenged MAGA morons whine about government inefficiency as Fox news tells them to do.

What if we had a single nationalized healthcare system?

One billing system.
One network where every doctor, clinic, and hospital are available.
One national drug program negotiated for 340 million members with one set of prices for everyone.
No PBM's as middlemen.
No brokers as middlemen.
No reinsurance companies as middlemen.
No courts and arbitrators or litigation.
No denied or delayed claims to screw sick people out of healthcare for a profit motive.

Yeah, taxes may have to increase to pay for it. But you would no longer be paying assholes with a profit motive to fuck you over. And everyone would have access to healthcare. So net out the saving from killing the current profit driven exploitation and inefficiency with the cost of a single payer system. There would be a net savings. Why can't MAGA morons understand it?

MrOracle · Accepted Answer

No!

That's literally advocating for slavery, because health care requires the labor and resources of others, and they are entitled to compensation for those things. Do you work for free or do you expect a paycheck?

Healthcare is NOT free anywhere on the planet. Countries like Canada and the UK have socialized health care, so they pay for their health care via their incredibly high federal taxes. Did you know that both countries have an average annual income that would rank them BELOW the US's last-place state, Mississippi? And that the costs of their socialized Healthcare programs are a big part of the reasons why?

No one is born being owed anything. It's up to each and every person to earn their way in the world. And how you vote is going to make a big difference in how easy or difficult it is to do so. Foolish people run to socialism because they want what others have without having to work for it, and they believe that socialism will give it to them. But all throughout history, what always happens is that people under socialism are made equal by taking everything away from everyone, so that everyone (except the small group of ruling elites, of course) are powerless, penniless peasants who have no control over their lives or future.

Pay very close attention to what actually happens in NYC. Rents were frozen. Sounds good at first, right? But 1/3 of people living in rent-frozen apartments will either be living in a broken slum or will lose their home because the building will be sold or abandoned. See what the results are in a year. See if socialism actually works.

DeeDeeDeVour · Accepted Answer

Three (3) changes I want with regards to healthcare in the USA:

1. Make it very affordable again... not just for the masses but for everyone.

2. Make the insurance companies actually pay healthcare bills instead of denying payments of plan benefits.

3. Make the insurance companies accountable for the deaths & sufferings they caused when they denied and/or decreased healthcare claims payments.

Masie · Accepted Answer

For the people that require it then I say yes. The burden could be made up by ultra wealthy. It is too expensive for us that do get it. Thankfully I get it through my parents for a while. Then I hopefully will have state funded healthcare as a teacher.

Ronald_25 · Answer

Being British, I'm compelled to compare this with our celebrated and struggling national health service NHS.

🌍 The Case for Free Healthcare in the US
- Equity of access: Free healthcare ensures that treatment isn’t dependent on wealth. In the US, millions remain uninsured or underinsured, leading to delayed care and worse outcomes.
- Public health benefits: Universal systems reduce the spread of preventable diseases, improve vaccination rates, and lower long-term costs by catching issues early.
- Economic stability: Families avoid catastrophic medical bills, and workers are healthier, boosting productivity.

⚖️ Criticisms of the NHS
- Funding pressures: The NHS struggles with underfunding, leading to long wait times and staff shortages. Free care doesn’t mean unlimited resources.
- Political interference: Because the NHS is state-run, its priorities shift with governments. Some argue this makes it vulnerable to short-term political agendas rather than long-term planning.
- Efficiency concerns: Critics say bureaucracy slows innovation and responsiveness compared to private systems.

🏛️ Politics and the NHS
The NHS is deeply political. UK parties use it as a battleground:
- Left-leaning governments emphasize expansion and funding.
- Right-leaning governments often push for efficiency reforms, sometimes accused of creeping privatization.
This constant tug-of-war means the NHS is never politically neutral — it’s a symbol of national identity but also a political football.

🇺🇸 What if Trump ran the NHS?
Hypothetically, if Donald Trump were in charge of the NHS:
- Privatization push: He might favor introducing more private-sector competition, arguing it would reduce inefficiency.
- Reduced bureaucracy: Expect rhetoric about cutting “red tape,” though critics would fear this could undermine patient protections.
- Funding priorities: Likely a shift toward selective investment, possibly rewarding private partnerships over blanket public funding.
- Political messaging: The NHS could become more polarized, with debates framed in populist terms — “choice” and “freedom” versus “socialist healthcare.”

Free healthcare in the US would bring enormous benefits in equity and public health, but the NHS shows that universal systems are not a panacea — they are vulnerable to political winds, funding crises, and efficiency struggles. If Trump were hypothetically in charge of the NHS, it would likely tilt toward privatization and populist framing, reshaping it into something far less universal.

goaded · Answer

You mean "free at the point of use". This is the UK system:

"Is the NHS Really Free?
The short answer is: mostly, but not entirely. The NHS operates on the principle of being free at the point of use — meaning that when you see a GP, receive hospital treatment, or call an ambulance, you are not charged at the moment you receive care. That distinguishes it from insurance-based or fee-for-service systems where you pay upfront or receive a bill afterwards."

https://movingtotheuk.co.uk/healthcare/uk-free-universal-healthcare

"But free at the point of use does not mean free across the board. The NHS has always applied charges for certain services — most notably prescription medicines in England, NHS dental treatment, and optical care. These are not quirks or recent cuts; they have been part of the NHS system since the 1950s. Understanding which services attract charges and which do not is essential practical knowledge for anyone moving to the UK."

Key principle: "Free at the point of use" means no bill when you receive care. It does not mean every NHS service is free. Prescriptions, dental, and optical care involve charges for most adults in England.

ohsheeT · Answer

United States is one of the richest countries in the world

It is also one of the greediest countries in the world

They don't want to prolong their people's life's.

If you haven't noticed a regulate the EPA which regulates the foods that we eat and if you do any research whatsoever on the foods you will see that we are being poisoned everything is chemically made your candy bars have gasoline in them anything McDonald's is not real food it's all chemically made

Your ketchups nowadays are made from not tomatoes but from chemicals Oreo cookies not the ingredients they used to make things it's all chemicals now

It's to get a sick to keep us sick To make big Pharma money And the government money

The fake government that we have is a business it's there to make money not to represent us or to keep us safe it's to line their pockets with money

The more you understand and know about the foods that we are eating that we are being sold and that are being taken away from us the more you understand why they don't want Health Care because it would cost them a fortune just because of what we are eating and that they are allowing us to eat

AMS700CX4u2 · Answer

You are talking extremes. Anyone who has taken courses in Origins of Society , or Civics or History knows that there have been Good Kings and there have been Bad Kings, Governments for the People and Governments for the Rich. This is a huge cyclic process. You would have thought that a civilization that has sent folk to the moon and back could have figured out a way to reduce the amplitudes of the cyclic waves between All for the People and All for the Affluent. But we haven't. The problem has existed throughout history and is made worst due to the fact that no one lives long enough to to see 8 or 9 generations and recognize the cycle when is starts again. And our Greed , which causes 90% of our problems and causes 90% of our progress. Been with us since the Garden.

We have always been taught that the United States of America is a Government for the People, by the People. So If Americans are providing labor to build empires. It follows that the empires should educate and provide health care for its labor force. But that all crashed by 2009. Labor outsourcing seemed to end the cycle of America investing in Americans.

We Have already heard 'Let them Eat Cake" in the form of "The financial status of the American people is not my concern". The Great Mandela.

RingOfFire · Answer

Only if you are a dope who actually thinks ANYTHING is free (also known as a "Democratic Socialist" or Communist).

Who the hell do you think pays for every single thing the government hands out? YOU DO. The government has no money. It produces nothing and it earns nothing. Every penny it spends it takes by force from the half of American people who pay all the taxes.

And what kind of healthcare would you get from a government run healthcare system? The same kind they have in socialist countries like Canada where millions of Canadians cross the border into the US every day to get critical health care they can't get from the government healthcare system there because you are on a waiting list for 6 months to get cancer surgery on the government health plan? They save money by making people wait for so long that they are dead before they can get any help.

Only an idiot thinks that a healthcare system run by the government is "free." It is anything but. It cost 10 times more than it does now, has horrible results and half the money they steal from taxpayers goes into the pockets of corrupt government bureaucrats and politicians.

Don't be one of those idiots!

Anonymous · Answer

Free Universal Healthcare, yes because it would save us more money and lives overall.

We would increase taxes, but think about the GoFundMes that don’t have to be started, the $12k hospital bills needing to be paid, the prescription drug costs that look you in the face everyday you are medicated for an issue that can’t be cured away and needs something to help you which costs companies 15 cents to create and bottle up, but takes a heavy toll from your wallet.

We fix it now and we save money overall, even if it is a slight increase in tax.
Canada, Norway, China, Russia, Australia, Germany, Sweden, The United Kingdom, Finland, France, so on. There’s no reason why the wealthiest most influential country in the world can’t provide the grand standard of living for its people. No reason, no justification.

American Capitalism doesn’t make us free from authoritarian ideals or keep us more free than the rest of the world.
We have imperialism, mass surveillance, deportations, walls, weaponized police force, and a corrupt oligarchy all from Capitalistic billionaire sponsors.
Giving neighbors, family, friends, yourselves adequate healthcare isn’t going to turn us into USSR or China or whatever your pre programmed notions are.
It will give a better life to all.

Just_Ken · Answer

Who will pay for it to be free?

Too many obese people in the US for a National insurance type scheme to be enacted. Healthcare has to bd paid for by someone and the way any insurance scheme works is that the majority of people dont use it, the more that use it the more expensive it is.

America needs to deal with the obesity crisis as the healthcare system is collapsing under the weight of obesity and obesity related illnesses, as is the welfare system and of course the huge environmental problem of obesity

molonski2 · Answer

The USA system has so many flaws where does one even begin , over servicing , over supply of script drugs..
An absolutely fu ckned insurance system , so much is wrong and virtually nothing is correct , it's one giant mess , and the system has grown and grown to make a quality system available to all.. virtually impossible.

Big Pharma rules the roost , sponsorship of doctors , even specialists , it's just a complete shambles.

So difficult to even start , and people doctorshop , it's a disgrace..

Every second person on anti depresents , and 40 year Olds over dosing on TRT , that's a shameful system , and everyone should be ashamed it was allowed to come to this..

Acceptance that all should be on script medicine.. NO , this is not the norm , while another poor individual can't see a doctor.. just horrendous.

BadApple69 · Answer

Nothing is free. We need to get that idea out of our heads.
So how do you pay for it? Collect more taxes?
Let’s keep in mind that 40% of American households don’t pay taxes. So do those of us who do pay taxes also pay for the people who don’t pay taxes? Something already doesn’t seem fair with that system.
Off topic a bit… but we should have a flat tax. Everyone pays 10%. Rich or poor it stays the same percentage. Then maybe the left will stop crying that the rich doesn’t pay their fair share. Everyone will pay the same. The poor will also have a dog in the fight. Right now the 40% don’t care where the tax money goes because they didn’t pay it.
But back to healthcare. Get a job that pays for part of your healthcare or buy your own. The government isn’t better at supplying services.

Chazmatazz269 · Answer

Sure. We should also have pet unicorns and everyone should get a pot o’ gold from the end of the rainbow.
The fact is that we have already let capitalism get completely out of hand. There is no way to get “free” healthcare for everyone who needs it. The insurance companies and healthcare providers will never allow their BILLIONS to be shorted.
Look at all the waste, fraud and abuse they’ve uncovered in the existing healthcare entitlements. Then multiply that by millions. Deadbeats, criminals and corrupt politicians would be living high on the hog while US taxpayers are taxed into poverty.

MrChinaski · Answer

There aren't many places that healthcare is completely free to consumers.

Health *insurance* is free in many places.

In Australia, if you go to a GP where I live the government typically subsidies the cost by about 50%; if you need pharmaceuticals you pay a copayment... depending on the drug, the copayment may be 100% of the cost or mere pennies in the dollar. In-hospital care is free. If you go to a physiotherapist or other allied health service, or dentist in most circumstances, you pay the full sticker price yourself.

When people talk about universal healthcare they don't generally mean free healthcare. They mean some kind of free public insurance system that means people don't face large or catastrophic costs of healthcare events.

choco-latte · Answer

Most Americans themselves reject the idea as being commie while Europeans usually support free healthcare, have implemented it in many of their countries and enjoy a better quality of life & better health than us 🤷🏻‍♀️

EzraIsShy76028 · Answer

Perhaps not totally free as I don't know how realistic that is but it definitely shouldn't be as expensive as it is currently. It's crazy how the USA has so much money for war and yet not healthcare. Not sure why this should even be controversial.

jennifer_bloom · Answer

The reason Americans are forced to pay for health care is that it financially incentivizes healthy lifestyle choices and punishes unhealthy lifestyle choices. If there is no punishment for eating junk food because health care is free and disability benefits are generous, some might not care if they get up to 400 pounds. I know somebody who said they would eat junk food even if they knew they would get cancer from it, because life is boring without enjoyable food, according to them.

Hispanic-Cool-Guy · Answer

Not free but not nearly as expensive it is.

Healthcare in the US is a big hustle and scam.

Exercise regularly and watch what you eat depending on your genetics and don't abuse alcoho, smoke cigarettes nor do drugs.

That's the best way to take care of your health.

lightbulb27 · Answer

It should not be free as nothing is free… but it should be affordable given our social progress.

but when it is used to elevate the economy and make big business… the chance of that before a collapse is zero.

we are a sick nation …with garbage food options and poisoned environment…resulting in disease, illness, lying, deceit (like fundraisers to cure xyz) and expensive death… and thats all good business. You are not going to to userp that by making it cheap…

msc545 · Answer

We should have universal health care like other civilized countries do. It should not require any co-payments or anything of the sort by the person that needs the health care. Everyone in the United States who is a citizen should be required to make payments to support the health care system. This should be taken out of taxes. Perhaps spending a trillion dollars a year on the unnecessary, unneeded defense contractors would serve to finance a universal health care system.

jshm2 · Answer

Of course.

Right now, the USA only has healthcare businesses - and those are all for profit, and get a fat check from the government to boot.

Switching to universal healthcare would mean cutting out all those leeches, and making each hospital and clinic outcome based, instead of profit based.

AviatorTom · Answer

Nothing is free. Someone always has to pay. In the US, healthcare is legally guaranteed. If someone goes to the hospital and cannot afford the treatment, the hospital is still required to treat them.

Anonymous · Answer

I mean there is more than enough for it.

But the billionaires think you need keep producing like a mindless drone while barely get any of the rewards you earned.

They steal your ideas make billions off your labor and then tell you are lazy and need to work.

mothefriendly · Answer

Probably. I dont see why not. Everyone has the attitude that we are gonna pay for the next person but the anti socialist ideas your brains have been conditioned to believe in, the fact you believe in them serves the wealthy thats why they want to have those ideals as part of the American identity. If america can afford that level of military spending why can't its people have health care for free like basically the whoke of Europe.

SolitarySolace · Answer

Absolutely not, no! Here’s why…

It’s never free. You’ll be paying for it in a massive tax increase!

Imagine this… the DSA gets everything it wants, including universal healthcare. Yay, we’re all healthy. But at what cost? The Senate, presidency, Supreme Court, Electoral College, and constitutional structure Americans inherited have been swept aside for a socialist republic. That is not something the average American will willingly accept as a trade off

Ariesman81Nshiiit · Answer

Nope. The only reason the NATO countries were able to "afford" healthcare is because big daddy U. S. was protecting their asses. Their socialist policies are gonna fail now that we aren't a member.

Should healthcare be free in the United States?

And you're already seeing it with the invasion of immigrants thinking they're gonna get a free ride.

darkcloud1945 · Answer

There is not enough gold in the universe to cover the cost of healthcare for everyone, especially the tens of millions of illegals collecting free healthcare among the other free goodies. If we go communist, hundreds of millions more will flood our open borders for the free free free everything the commies are promising.

ericJackson · Answer

Yes, it should be free: Proponents believe healthcare is a basic human right. A universal system ensures no one goes bankrupt from medical bills, catches illnesses early through free preventive care, and reduces overall administrative costs.

RavVid · Answer

I think so. Australians pay 2% of taxable earnings and most everything is covered by that levy. You won't die because you don't have money for an operation.

If you want to go to specific surgeon then you need private health cover.

MartinKlingac · Answer

Yes, I believe everyone should have access to affordable or free healthcare, regardless of their financial situation. No one should have to choose between getting treatment and paying their bills.

itss_lily · Answer

yes, yes and yes 100%!!! no one deserves to stay sick, suffer and die for not being able to afford care!

Kaneki05 · Answer

Majority of Americans agree and support, want universal healthcare in America, therefore everything else is just bureaucratic excuses to ignore American citizens...

Anonymous · Answer

As others have rightly pointed out, there is no such thing as free healthcare. Healthcare requires resources, the mental and physical labor of healthcare professionals, researchers, regulators, etc., and that all has to be paid for somehow.

If you think healthcare should be "free" in the US, how would you propose those costs should be covered?

LiamJHayden · Answer

Nothing that requires the resources, knowledge, and labor of another can be "free."

slatyb · Answer

It should be provided to citizens and permanent residents at little or no cost as it in in every other developed country.

JesseP1nk · Answer

Just amazing... reading americans comments on this... While all the Europe has free healthcare, then americans while bombing shit out of some 3rd world country thinking "i dont know where we get the money for free healthcare"

Pretendingtobesweet · Answer

It should. People work all their life to buy a house and then they get old and sick they spend all their money to pay the medical bill and sell house

strateguy632 · Answer

nope. i earn so i buy. it is like gratitude for developing the things i needed when i am desperate.

Miristheiss · Answer

Well, since the leaders flood the country with millions of illegals and then try to give healthcare and benefits to illegals... no.

exitseven · Answer

Yes, if they can figure out a way to give everyone free healthcare without raising taxes I would be all over it. Too bad that Santa Claus is not real.

SUMAIREBRAHIM · Answer

Yes if usa can afford trill for war than yes healthcare n pension scheme should be mandatory like eu
In eu they get certain amount as pension when they're retired n unemployed people get 1-2 k euro usa is richer n can afford it too

Mark_Est · Answer

No. However the profit margins need to be capped and the salaries.

ProbablyClueless · Answer

I don't think so.  Our society doesn't do enough to encourage a healthy lifestyle to make single payor healthcare viable.

SeekerOfTruth007 · Answer

Nothing is free. Everything you think is "free" is paid for by someone who works for a living.

AngryCarl3 · Answer

Healthcare isn't free anywhere. Your taxes should pay for it. What are you even getting for your tax dollars?

loveslongnails · Answer

It should be the same as the other civilized nations who make it work. Good luck with that. Billionaires will never allow it.

Jackblue · Answer

It will be when drugs can be invented by AI, robots can do surgery, and the rest of the world stops mooching off the US with all the research costs dumped on us.

dragoblack · Answer

Rephrase:should healthcare be taxpayer funded to help those who pay taxes have little to no copay or bill. Yes. But also healthcare is way overcharged in the USA to levels that should be illegal.

Dargil · Answer

Who is gonna pay for all this health care? You?

KostasKouvalis · Answer

That would be nice. Or at the very least, very cheap

Anonymous · Answer

No. But i do think it should be determined by your ability to pay. But the healthcare system makes up 18% of the economy and growing. And that is why they'll never want to fix it.

Anonymous · Answer

Free healthcare usually just means tax payer funded so in a way it’s not truly free.

CyberGhost615 · Answer

There is nothing free. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you

foxsquirrell · Answer

Mostly free yes. Not free for people who ignore safety rules, over eat, drug use, and things like that.

Molly1990 · Answer

Yes, it's the only country in the world that doesn't pay for it. If you work until 62, it should be.

Malwi93 · Answer

what do you mean free, can't it be like in Europe

samael_kmarty · Answer

Yes please that would make people at least able to get basic treatment

jahaims · Answer

It would be cheaper than our current medical system. It's all fraud currently

Smegskull · Answer

How would it be free? Force doctors into conscription?

Bklynbadboy12 · Answer

Yes it should we are one of the richest most powerful countries yes people here dont have food or decent health care

Enginn · Answer

Not if it goes to doctors' paycheck. But the government could print more money to take care of that so there could be ways.

captain_voidwalker · Answer

Nothing is free, you will pay for it one way or another.

lilBigPotato · Answer

It doesn't need be free, just affordable.

Should healthcare be free in the United States?

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