Many people think it is the government’s responsibility to ensure the provision of good health care for everyone in the community and that each individual should be cared for by State medical programmes. To what extent do you agree with this opinion?

I agree that the State should provide

health

care

for its citizens.

However

, I

also

believe that individuals must take responsibility for their own well-being. In my opinion, free medical

care

is a basic human right. It is true that the government needs to look after its people to ensure that they can live productive, healthy lives. After all, parents and the family unit function better if they are in good

health

, and workers are more industrious if they are free from disease. Taxpayers should have confidence that the government will look after them and their families if they become ill or have an accident because worry about

health

care

can cause or exacerbate illness.

However

, the type of medical

care

that is

provided should be mostly educational with

the

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an

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emphasis on preventive medicine rather than providing treatment for self-inflicted illnesses.

For instance

, publicly funded campaigns to warn about the consequences of smoking, drinking too much alcohol, taking illicit drugs, or careless driving could

also

inform people that, if they indulge in these activities, the financial burden of their treatment and rehabilitation will lie with them. We must remember that the State should not have to pay for the effects of reckless living. Undoubtedly,

this

will empower people to make sensible eating, drinking and exercise decisions whilst remaining secure in the knowledge that, should they fall sick or sustain an injury through no fault of their own, the State will nurse them back to

health

. To sum up, governments should provide their citizens with good-quality

health

care

on the understanding that individuals look after themselves to the best of their ability.