To What Extent Can It Be Argued That State Healthcare Should Be Withdrawn from People Who Have Made Lifestyle Choices That Have Damaged Their Own Health?
To what extent can it be argued that state healthcare should be withdrawn from people who have made lifestyle choices that have damaged their own health?
Health care involves the diagnosis and treatment of all diseases, illness or injury, either physical or mental. It is provided by doctors and nurses through primary, secondary and tertiary care. Our topic is restricted to healthcare provided by the state as a public good. Healthcare is one of the most important sectors of an economy. Healthcare can be maintained privately or through state (NHS). The fact is, most of the population cannot afford private healthcare therefore they heavily depend on the government. It is considered a duty of the government to provide healthcare to the public. Healthcare is a basic right of people under a welfare state. Healthcare can be a huge burden for the government and the taxpayers. The expense on healthcare is increasing rapidly, preventing investment in new projects. On the other hand, the taxes keep on rising to facilitate government expenditure, posing a burden on the taxpayer. There are multiple factors contributing to rising healthcare problems. The increasing population of the U.K. means a higher number of ‘patients’ every year. In 2010 the population of U.K rose by half a million (Doughty, 2011).Higher number of patients, require more services and the doctor to patient ratio decreases. Due to this extra pressure of health care on the government, the health system is deteriorating. Number of doctors available and the maintenance of healthcare facilities have been very low (Telegraph, 2012). Some of the major healthcare problems recently have been related to obesity, alcoholism and drug abuse. The controversiality of this topic has given rise to questions like, ‘Are people putting their life in danger deliberately knowing that the state will eventually come to their rescue?’
There is an on-going debate between people whether healthcare should be withdrawn from those,
Health care involves the diagnosis and treatment of all diseases, illness or injury, either physical or mental. It is provided by doctors and nurses through primary, secondary and tertiary care. Our topic is restricted to healthcare provided by the state as a public good. Healthcare is one of the most important sectors of an economy. Healthcare can be maintained privately or through state (NHS). The fact is, most of the population cannot afford private healthcare therefore they heavily depend on the government. It is considered a duty of the government to provide healthcare to the public. Healthcare is a basic right of people under a welfare state. Healthcare can be a huge burden for the government and the taxpayers. The expense on healthcare is increasing rapidly, preventing investment in new projects. On the other hand, the taxes keep on rising to facilitate government expenditure, posing a burden on the taxpayer. There are multiple factors contributing to rising healthcare problems. The increasing population of the U.K. means a higher number of ‘patients’ every year. In 2010 the population of U.K rose by half a million (Doughty, 2011).Higher number of patients, require more services and the doctor to patient ratio decreases. Due to this extra pressure of health care on the government, the health system is deteriorating. Number of doctors available and the maintenance of healthcare facilities have been very low (Telegraph, 2012). Some of the major healthcare problems recently have been related to obesity, alcoholism and drug abuse. The controversiality of this topic has given rise to questions like, ‘Are people putting their life in danger deliberately knowing that the state will eventually come to their rescue?’
There is an on-going debate between people whether healthcare should be withdrawn from those,
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