The Enactment Of Free Universal

Healthcare

By: -
YASHIKA GOPLANI
1ST Yr, BA, LL.B. (Hons.)
Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur
E-mail- [email protected]

www.probono-india.in

1
 May 15, 2020

ABSTRACT
Universal healthcare ensures that no one is deprived from the basic medication and it ensures
equitable access for all its citizens. Free universal healthcare makes it more convenient for
them removing the bars related to costing. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Right to
health is a fundamental right and therefore every nation should give special emphasis on it. In
India it is ensured under Article 21 of the Constitution. To enact this effective human
resources are required which are worked out by National Human Rights Commission. Since
there are two sides of coin, similarly everything has its pros and cons which are mentioned in
the article. But since it is for the welfare of all and it being the obligation of the governments,
the pros are having more weightage as compared to its cons.

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INTRODUCTION
India is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Supreme Court held
that Article 21 of the Constitution of India in relation to human rights has to be interpreted in
conformity with international law1. Health is considered as one of the basic necessities of
human life. A healthy nation is wealthy nation is a very famous saying. Medicinal services is
essential to the general public since individuals get sick, accidents happen and emergencies
arise and the emergency clinics are expected to analyse, treat and oversee various sorts of
illnesses and disorders. A significant number of individuals' goals and dreams can't be met
without happy, long and cheerful lives.2 The human services industry is divided into a few
regions so as to meet the wellbeing needs of people and the health of individuals. Throughout
the world, the medicinal services would proceed to flourish and develop so far as man exists
subsequently shaping a tremendous piece of any nation's economy.
Further, Article 25 [2] of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7 (b) of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have been cited by the
Supreme Court while upholding the right to health by a worker. 3 The World Health
Organization (WHO) characterizes wellbeing strategy as choices, plans, and activities that are
1
People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India (1997) 1 SCC 301
2
Planning Commission Of India “High Level Expert Group Report On Universal Health Coverage For India”
<http://www.uhc-india.org/reports/hleg_report.pdf>accessed on 6th May,2020
3
ESC Ltd v. Subhash Chandra Bose (1992) 1 SCC 441 at 462

3
embraced to accomplish explicit human services objectives inside a general public. The point
of health policies approaches is to characterize a dream for the future which thus assists with
building up targets and perspectives for the short and medium term. It likewise traces needs
and the role of various gatherings; and it manufactures accord and illuminates individuals for
the same.
For instance, when people become depressed and mentally ill during recession, they become
discriminated upon by colleagues, friends and sometimes close family members. The loss of
a job too makes people to socialise less often and prefer to live in isolation most times and
this can have a great impact on their health. 4 The Indian Constitution makes the arrangement
of medicinal services in India the obligation of the state governments, as opposed to the
national government. It makes each state liable for "raising the degree of nourishment and the
way of life of its kin and the improvement of general wellbeing as among its essential
obligations"
The National Health Policy was endorsed by the Parliament of India in 1983 and updated in
2002, and then again updated in 2017. The recent four main updates in 2017 mentions the
need to focus on the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, on the emergence of the
robust healthcare industry, on growing incidences of unsustainable expenditure due to health
care costs and on rising economic growth enabling enhanced fiscal capacity. 5 In practice
however, the private healthcare sector is responsible for the majority of healthcare in India,
and most healthcare expenses are paid directly out of pocket by patients and their families,
rather than through health insurance.6 Government health policy has thus far largely
encouraged private-sector expansion in conjunction with well designed but limited public
health programmes.7
Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people and communities can use the
promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of

4
“Healthcare Is Important To The Society Health Essay” Uni Assignment Centre
<https://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/health/healthcare-is-important-to-the-society-health-essay.php>
accessed on 3rd May,2020

5
Sekher, T.V. "Catastrophic Health Expenditure and Poor in India: Health Insurance is the
Answer?" Retrieved 18 September 2017.
6
Berman, Peter (2010). "The Impoverishing Effect of Healthcare Payments in India: New Methodology and
Findings". Economic and Political Weekly
<https://www.epw.in/journal/2010/16/special-articles/impoverishing-effect-healthcare-payments-india-new-
methodology-and> accessed on 5th May,2020
7
 Britnell, Marks, “In Search of the Perfect Health System. London: Palgrave<
https://www.macmillanihe.com/page/detail/In-Search-of-the-Perfect-Health-System/?K=9781137496614>
accessed on 5th May 2020

4
 sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not
expose the user to financial hardship.

This definition of UHC embodies three related objectives:

1. Equity in access to health services - everyone who needs services should get them, not
only those who can pay for them;
2. The quality of health services should be good enough to improve the health of those
receiving services; and
3. People should be protected against financial-risk, ensuring that the cost of using services
does not put people at risk of financial harm.8

WHAT IS UNIVERSAL FREE HEALTHCARE?

Universal healthcare (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal

care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are
assured access to health care. It is generally organized around providing either all residents or
only those who cannot afford on their own with either health services or the means to acquire
them, with the end goal of improving health outcomes Universal healthcare does not imply
coverage for all cases and for all people – only that all people have access to healthcare.
Some universal healthcare systems are government-funded, while others are based on a
requirement that all citizens purchase private health insurance. Universal healthcare can be
determined by three critical dimensions: who is covered, what services are covered, and how
much of the cost is covered.9

The United States is the only one of the 33 developed countries that doesn’t have universal
health care. But its health delivery system does have specific components, such as Medicare,
Medicaid, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, that provide universal health care to
specific populations. Forces hospitals and doctors to provide the same standard of service at a
low cost: In a competitive environment like the United States, health care providers must also

8
World Health Organization, “What is health financing for universal
coverage?”<https://www.who.int/health_financing/universal_coverage_definition/en/> accessed on 4th May
2020
9
World Health Organization (November 22, 2010). The world health report: health systems financing: the path
to universal coverage. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 978-92-4-156402-1. 

5
focus on profit. They do this by offering the newest technology. They offer expensive
services and pay doctors more. They try to compete by targeting the wealthy.10 

The National Health Service (NHS) is the provider of healthcare to all permanent residents in
England. The services provided by the NHS are free at the point of use and paid for from
general taxation. Although, there are charges associated with other aspects of healthcare such
as eye tests, dental care, prescriptions, and many other aspects of personal care. The NHS is
guided by series of policies as outlined by the Department of Health from time to time. All
Health policy in England and the rest of the UK rests on the National Health Service Act of
1946 which came into effect on 5th July 1948, launched by Minister of Health, Aneurin
Bevan during the opening of Park Hospital in Manchester.11

HISTORY OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

The first move towards a national health insurance system was launched in Germany in 1883,
with the Sickness Insurance Law. Industrial employers were mandated to provide injury and
illness insurance for their low-wage workers, and the system was funded and administered by
employees and employers through "sick funds", which were drawn from deductions in
workers' wages and from employers' contributions. Other countries soon began to follow suit.
In the United Kingdom, the National Insurance Act 1911 provided coverage for primary care
(but not specialist or hospital care) for wage earners, covering about one third of the
population. The Russian Empire established a similar system in 1912, and other industrialized
countries began following suit. By the 1930s, similar systems existed in virtually all of
Western and Central Europe. Japan introduced an employee health insurance law in 1927,
expanding further upon it in 1935 and 1940. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917,
the Soviet Union established a fully public and centralized health care system in
1920.12 However, it was not a truly universal system at that point, as rural residents were not
covered. In New Zealand, a universal health care system was created in a series of steps, from

10
True Cost. “List Of Countries With Universal Healthcare,” https://truecostblog.com/2009/08/09/countries-
with-universal-healthcare-by-date/
11
“Healthcare Is Important To The Society Health Essay” Uni Assignment Centre
<https://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/health/healthcare-is-important-to-the-society-health-essay.php>
accessed on 3rd May,2020

12
“OECD Reviews of Health Systems: Russian Federation 2012” < https://www.oecd.org/publications/oecd-
reviews-of-health-systems-russian-federation-2012-9789264168091-en.htm> accessed on 6th May 2020

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1939 to 1941. In Australia, the state of Queensland introduced a free public hospital system
in the 1940s.13

Following World War II, universal health care systems began to be set up around the world.
On July 5, 1948, the United Kingdom launched its universal National Health Service.
Universal health care was next introduced in the Nordic
countries of Sweden (1955), Iceland (1956), Norway (1956), Denmark (1961), and Finland
(1964). Universal health insurance was then introduced in Japan (1961), and
in Canada through stages, starting with the province of Saskatchewan in 1962, followed by
the rest of Canada from 1968 to 1972. The Soviet Union extended universal health care to its
rural residents in 1969. Italy introduced its Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (National Health
Service) in 1978. Universal health insurance was implemented in Australia beginning with
the Medibank system which led to universal coverage under the Medicare system, introduced
in 1975.14

A government-funded health insurance project was launched in 2018 by the Government of

India, called Ayushman Bharat.

According to the World Bank, the total expenditure on health care as a proportion of GDP in
2015 was 3.89%. Out of 3.89%, the governmental health expenditure as a proportion of GDP

is just 1%, and the out-of-pocket expenditure as a proportion of the current health expenditure
was 65.06% in 2015. 15

The public health care system was originally developed in order to provide a means to
healthcare access regardless of socioeconomic status or caste. However, reliance on public
and private healthcare sectors varies significantly between states. Several reasons are cited
for relying on the private rather than public sector; the main reason at the national level is
poor quality of care in the public sector, with more than 57% of households pointing to this as
the reason for a preference for private health care. Much of the public healthcare sector caters
to the rural areas, and the poor quality arises from the reluctance of experienced healthcare
providers to visit the rural areas. Consequently, the majority of the public healthcare system
catering to the rural and remote areas relies on inexperienced and unmotivated interns who
13
Abel-Smith, Brian (1987). "Social welfare; Social security; Benefits in kind; National health schemes". The
new Encyclopedia Britannica (15th ed.) < https://lexforti.com/2019/10/the-gradual-defederalization-of-
canadian-health-policy/> accessed on 7th May 2020
14
Gannik, Dorte; Holst, Erik; Wagner, Mardsen, "Primary health care". The national health system in Denmark.
Bethesda: National Institutes of Health < https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/93444/> accessed on 7th May,2020
15
World Bank, "Health expenditure, total (% of GDP)"< https://www.populationpyramid.net/hnp/health-
expenditure-total-of-gdp/2014/>  accessed on 4th May,2020

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are mandated to spend time in public healthcare clinics as part of their curricular requirement.
Other major reasons are long distances between public hospitals and residential areas, long
wait times, and inconvenient hours of operation.16

CONSTITUTION OF INDIA ON RIGHT TO HEALTHCARE

Many constitutions now recognize the right to health. Sometimes, these rights are justiciable,
meaning that they can be pursued by action in court. Indeed, a trend in constitutional reform
around the world has been both to entrench the right to health and make it justiciable. The US
is an outlier to these trends, at least at the federal level. Nonetheless, there have been
campaigns in the US seeking to support a constitutional recognition of the right to health.
Where constitutions do recognize a justiciable right to health, the responses by courts has
been mixed.17

The Preamble to the Constitution highlights some of the core values and principles that guide
the Constitution of India. Although the preamble is not regarded as a part of the Constitution
and is not enforceable in a court of law, the Constitution is interpreted in the light of the
preamble and in a majority of decisions the Supreme Court of India has held that the
objectives of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity stated in the preamble constitute the basic
structure of the Constitution. The Preamble directs the state to initiate measures to establish
justice, equality, ensure dignity, etc. which have a direct bearing on people’s health.18

The Constitution incorporates provisions guaranteeing everyone’s right to the highest

attainable standard of physical and mental health. Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees
protection of life and personal liberty to every citizen. The Supreme Court has held that the
right to live with human dignity, enshrined in Article 21, derives from the directive principles
of state policy and therefore includes protection of health. Further, it has also been held that
the right to health is integral to the right to life and the government has a constitutional
obligation to provide health facilities. 19

16
International Institute for Population Sciences and Macro International (September 2007). "National Family
Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005 –06" Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. pp. 436–
440< http://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-3%20Data/VOL-1/India_volume_I_corrected_17oct08.pdf> accessed on
May,2020
17
Alicia Ely Yamin, Siri Gloppen, “Litigating Health Rights, Can Courts Bring More Justice to Health?” <
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/
&httpsredir=1&article=1049&context=ohlj> accessed 3rd May,2020
18
N. B. Sarojini & others, “Women’s Right to Health (New Delhi: National Human Rights Commission, 2006)”
< https://nhrc.nic.in/sites/default/files/Womens.pdf> accessed 5th May,2020
19
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India ,AIR 1984 SC 802

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Article 21 of the Indian constitution deals with Protection of Life and Personal Liberty. It lays
down that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law. The object of this fundamental right under Article 21 is to
prevent encroachment upon personal liberty and deprivation of life except according to
procedure established by law. Right to Life means the right to lead meaningful, complete and
dignified life. It does not have restricted meaning. It is something more than surviving or
animal existence.20

The Supreme Court has in various judicial pronouncements enshrined the right to health as
envisaged under the Indian constitution. Some of the initial judicial pronouncements are
related to public interest litigation. Compared to some of the other social rights, the Right to
Health has been articulated and recognized as an integral part of the right to life only from the
mid-nineties by the Indian Supreme Court. The recognition of the right to health has emerged
out of a gamut of different petitions and public interest litigations in the Supreme Court,
ranging from PILs concerning workers health hazards to petitions filed by individual seeking
rights of emergency medical care and HIV issues and to PILs for banning smoking in public
spaces21

Failure of a government hospital to provide a patient timely medical treatment results in

violation of the patient’s right to life. Similarly, the Court has upheld the state’s obligation to
maintain health services .Public interest petitions have been filed under Article 21 in response
to violations of the right to health. They have been filed to provide special treatment to
children in jail ; on pollution hazards ; against hazardous drugs; against inhuman conditions
in after-care homes ; on the health rights of mentally ill patients ; on the rights of patients in
cataract surgery camps ; for immediate medical aid to injured persons ; on conditions in
tuberculosis hospitals ; on occupational health hazards; on the regulation of blood banks and
availability of blood products ; on passive smoking in public places; and in an appeal filed by
a person with HIV on the rights of HIV/AIDS patients.22

HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH

The ability of a country to meet its health goals depends largely on the knowledge, skills,
motivation and deployment of the people responsible for organizing and delivering health

20
V. Maheswari, “India– The Expanding Horizons” < http:// legalserviceindia.com/articles/art222.htm>
accessed on 7th May,2020
21
Jayna Kothari, “Social Rights and the Indian Constitution”,< https://www.escr-net.org/docs/i/401036>
22
Common Cause v. Union of India and Others ,AIR 1996 SC 929

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services. A number of studies show evidence of a direct and positive link between numbers of
health workers and population health outcomes (1, 2). Many countries, however, lack the
human resources needed to deliver essential health interventions for a number of reasons,
including limited production capacity, migration of health workers within and across
countries, poor mix of skills and demographic imbalances. The formulation of national
policies and plans in pursuit of human resources for health development objectives requires
sound information and evidence. Against the backdrop of increasing demand for information,
building knowledge and databases on the health workforce requires coordination across
sectors. WHO is working with countries and partners to strengthen the global evidence base
on the health workforce – including gaining consensus on a core set of indicators and
minimum data set for monitoring the stock, distribution and production of health workers.23

India’s mandate for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) depends, to a great extent, on
adequate and effective Human Resources for Health (HRH) providing care at primary,
secondary and tertiary levels in both the public and private sectors. States are presently
struggling with the complexities of escalating human resource costs, additional demands on
the available health work force, compounded by chronic HRH shortages, uneven distribution
and skill-mix imbalances. India’s health system is among the country’s highest employers
and absorbs almost two-thirds of the health budget for allocations in deployment, education,
training, etc. Reform of HRH will therefore be the keystone of Universal Health Coverage
reform in the country.24

The High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Universal Health Coverage acknowledges and
endorses the comprehensive and critical recommendations made by these earlier expert
bodies. While central and state leadership in health ministries may not have always adopted
or implemented the recommendations of these expert committees, their suggested rationale
and norms continue to be the basis for HRH planning and formulation of standards.25

Resources for Health is the most important building block of public health systems. The
major components are :-

 Generating adequate skilled Human Resources

23
World Health Organization, “ HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH”,
<https://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/toolkit_hss/EN_PDF_Toolkit_HSS_HumanResources_oct08.pdf>
accessed on 8th May,2020
24
“High Level Expert Group Report on Universal Health Coverage for India”<
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3354908/> accessed on 2nd May,2020
25
Supra.

10
  Strategy for recruiting and retaining public health workforce especially in rural and
remote areas
 Ensuring that appropriate skills are in place
 Ensuring performance with quality in the staff26

Strengthening the performance of health systems depends on more than just increasing the
numbers of health workers: actions for assessing and strengthening their recruitment,
distribution, retention and productivity are also important. Actions may include, for example:
adopting new approaches to pre-service and in-service training; strengthening workforce
management; establishing or improving incentives for addressing distribution and retention
challenges; or task shifting (delegating tasks, where appropriate, to less specialized health
workers). Such strategic plans should normally include targets for monitoring health
workforce metrics in both the short and the long term and adaptation to any major health
sector reforms (for example, decentralization). At the same time, the plans should be
harmonized with broader strategies for social and economic development (e.g. the national
poverty reduction strategy paper). They should also focus on the human resources
development needs of priority health programmes and aim to integrate these into a primary
health-care framework, based on epidemiological evidence.27

Health service providers are the personification of a system’s core values – they heal and care
for people, ease pain and suffering, prevent disease and mitigate risk – the human link that
connects knowledge to health action" - Working Together for Health, The World Health
Report 2006.

Adequate numbers of trained health-care providers and technical health-care workers should
be ensured by giving primacy to Primary Health-Care, increasing HRH density to achieve
World Health Organization norms of at least 23 health workers (Doctors, Nurses, Auxiliary
Nurse Midwives)/10,000 population, as well as recruiting adequate number of dentists,
pharmacists, physiotherapists, technicians, and other allied health professionals at appropriate
levels of health-care delivery, strengthening existing State Regional Institutes of Family

26
“Human Resources for Health, National Health System Records”< http://nhsrcindia.org/human-resources-for-
health>accessed on 7th May,2020
27
World Health Organization, “ HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH”,
<https://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/toolkit_hss/EN_PDF_Toolkit_HSS_HumanResources_oct08.pdf>
accessed on 8th May,2020

11
Welfare State, establishing District Health Knowledge Institutes, Health Science Universities,
and National Council for Human Resources in Health.28

National Human Rights Commission and Right to Health

The national human rights Commission’s efforts in the area of public health and human rights
were guided by the realization that the right to life with human dignity, enshrined in the
Constitution, must result in strengthening of measures to ensure that the people of this
country, and particularly those belonging to economically disadvantaged sections of the
society, have access to better and more comprehensive health facilities.29

In his address, Dr. Justice Anand said for any country to find its due place among the
civilized nations the three most important factors are: eradication of poverty, health care and
education. Unfortunately, even after more than half a century of independence, our country is
only at the fringe on all the three counts, he said. The situation seems even more paradoxical
when we have almost the largest force of technical personnel in the world. He observed that
while Indian doctors have to their credit remarkable achievements as faculty teachers and
practitioners in some of the most advanced countries they have helped set up hospitals and
health care in the developing countries, "yet we find the most appalling health care facilities
existing for our own countrymen. This is a common lament citizens of this country share.
There is something fundamentally wrong with our national priorities", he said. It is a national
shame that if at all a patient can get to a hospital, he either succumbs to the disease even
before he has had the most perfunctory attention or there is a trading of charges when there is
death in a ward.30

In November 2003, the commission approved a proposal received from the Jan Swasthya
Abhiyan (Peoples’ Health Movement-a network of 1000 NGOs working in the health sector)
to hold public hearings on Right to Health Care in five regions of the country followed by

28
“High Level Expert Group Report on Universal Health Coverage for India”<
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3354908/> accessed on 2nd May,2020
29
“National Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2003-04”< https://nhrc.nic.in/annualreports/2003-
2004> accessed on 7th May,2020
30
“National Public Hearing on Right to Health Care begins; focuses on inadequacies in the present system”
<https://nhrc.nic.in/press-release/national-public-hearing-right-health-care-begins-focuses-inadequacies-present-
system>accessed on 6th May,2020

12
one at the national level in New Delhi. Subsequently, the western region hearing was held at
Bhopal, Chennai, Lucknow, Ranchi and Guwahati. During these public hearings, selected
cases or instances, wherein individuals or groups who have suffered denial of right to health
care and have not received mandated health care from a public and private health facilities
were presented. The commission brought victims, NGOs and concerned authorities on the
same platform, which helped in the resolution of individual problems, identification of
systemic problems and forging of partnerships. Over 1000 victims from marginalized
sections presented their testimonies. The Commission and the concerned authorities are
redressing their complaints. Systemic improvements in health care have been suggested to all
concerned authorities. The active participation of NGOs and state governments has
contributed considerably to the success of this programme.31

There are countries who already have Universal Healthcare. Till 2013, thirty two out of thirty
three countries had this leaving only U.S.A. which was to join it in 2014.

PROS OF FREE UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

 Cost of healthcare in the economy gets reduced32

At the point when an arrangement of all inclusive medicinal services is set up, the
legislature can use the size of the clinical market to haggle better evaluating structures.
That brings down the expense of care since administrations and medicine will in general
be lower. Despite the fact that specialists and pharmaceutical organizations may get less
remuneration per administration or thing, social insurance spending, as a segment of the
GDP, goes down.

 Removes competition

The U.S. social insurance framework focuses on the well off. The arrangement of care
offers benefits that are costly, which permits them to pay specialists more. They channel
cash into innovative work to make new administrations to offer, at that point value it
outside of the range of the normal individual. The objective of any revenue driven
business is to bring in cash. In the event that medicinal services is placed into a revenue

31
National Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2004-05 < https://nhrc.nic.in/annualreports/2004-2005>
accessed on 7th May,2020
32
“17 Universal Health Care Pros and Cons”<https://vittana.org/17-universal-health-care-pros-and-cons>
accessed on 10th May,2020

13
 driven framework, at that point persistent consideration concentrates more on the
individuals who can pay and less on the individuals who can't.

 Simplified process33

In developed countries, an insurance agency may specify that they endorse of

administrations before they are given to a patient. That implies if a specialist figures a
MRI might be expected to analyse a clinical issue, the insurance agency should initially
support of the administration. On the off chance that the MRI is given without their
assent, at that point they might have the option to put the expense of the administration on
the patient, regardless of whether the administration is secured under the protection
arrangement.

 Youth benefits the most34

At the point when youngsters can get the consideration they require for good wellbeing, it
manufactures an establishment for future achievement. Youngsters who approach
wellbeing instruction and care assets are less inclined to engage with wrongdoing, exploit
government assistance projects, or manage ceaseless medical problems as a grown-up. A
country works well when its people are healthy and mainly the young generation. Giving
free healthcare would help those people specially who cannot afford it and will come up
with a bright future.

CONS OF FREE UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

 Disadvantage for people who do not consume services

In the United States, about 5% of people consume about 50% of the health care costs which
are generated each year. On the other end of the spectrum, the healthiest 50% of the
population consumes just 3% of the health care costs in the country. In a system of universal
health care, those who are healthy and wealthy are asked to care for those who are poor and
sick. That can be difficult to accept since most chronic diseases can be prevented with simple
lifestyle modifications.35
33
Id.
34
Id.
35
“17 Universal Health Care Pros and Cons”<https://vittana.org/17-universal-health-care-pros-and-cons>
accessed on 10th May,2020

14
  Free Healthcare Can Degrade Quality of Service36
Specialists working for cash in a free-advertise arrangement of medicinal services when they
can offer required types of assistance to patients who require them. Inside an arrangement of
widespread social insurance, specialists are frequently doled out a larger number of patients
than they can really deal with. They race through the meeting and analytic procedure,
searching for the most probable clarification of irksome indications as opposed to offering an
intensive test. Somehow or another, the expenses of all inclusive consideration could be
higher on an individual level than they are in different frameworks.

 Free Healthcare Takes Most of the Government’s Budget37

Though the free healthcare service is funded through taxes, the healthcare system is
remarkably expensive. Free healthcare services can take up to 40% of their budget. They
might have to cut off budget separated from other government services such as education.
Without strong management skills, the high costs associated with providing universal care
can quickly overrun the budget, which reduces services in other areas. That often puts
infrastructure and education funding at risk if health care costs are higher than anticipated.38

 Longer waiting hours

For elective procedures within a universal health care system, the wait times can be
extremely long. Some elective procedures may require 9-12 months of waiting before they
can be scheduled. In Canada, the wait times to see a specialist can even be long for some
patients, with some people waiting almost 40 weeks to see someone for a health concern.
That is because the primary goal of a universal system of care is to provide basic care and
emergency care only.39

India is marked by disparities in both exposure and vulnerability to diseases and access to
health services, with the poorest and most disadvantaged being most affected. The latter
include urban and rural poor, women, children, specially-abled persons, and the traditionally
marginalised and excluded like Adivasis, Scheduled Tribes (ST), Dalits, Scheduled Castes
(SC) as well as ethnic and religious minorities. Universal Health Coverage will require

36
11 Pros and Cons of Free Healthcare<https://honestproscons.com/pros-and-cons-of-free-healthcare/> accessed
on 7th May,2020
37
Id.
38
Supra.
39
Supra.

15
reducing such stratification by increasing reach, removing barriers, and including supportive
services. Action on the Social Determinants of Health, by addressing various inequities in
society at large, will in turn enable greater movement towards equity in the health system.40

CONCLUSION

Networks are not only beneficiaries of care. They have the abilities to make and advance
wellbeing, by methods for social and familial encouraging groups of people, and the use of
nearby wellbeing information. Expanded network cooperation in human services—its
conveyance, administration and responsibility—speaks to the extending of vote based system.
It can engage individuals, especially ladies, poor people and other underestimated sections of
society, and guarantee that the conveyance of human services administrations stays proper
and responsible to them.

As per Article 47 of the Indian constitution the state will respect the raising of the degree of
nourishment and the way of life of its kin and the improvement of general wellbeing as
among its essential obligations and, the state will disallow the utilization of inebriating
beverages and medications which are damaging to wellbeing aside from for clinical purposes.
It is, nonetheless, not enforceable in an official courtroom, it may not be conceivable to urge
the State through the legal procedure to make arrangement by legal authorization or official
fiat for guaranteeing this fundamental thing which go to make up an existence of human
respect however where enactment is as of now authorized by the State giving these essential
prerequisites to the labourers and in this way contributing their entitlement to live with
essential human pride, with solid reality and substance, the State can surely be committed to
guarantee recognition of such enactment for inaction on the part of the State in making sure
about usage of such enactment would add up to disavowal of the option to live with human
poise cherished in Article 21.

Existing village and health sanitation committees should be transformed into participating
health councils. The role of elected representatives, Panchayat Raj Institutions in rural areas
and local bodies in urban areas should be enhanced. Regular health assemblies at different
levels to enable community review of health plans and their performance should be
organized. Civil society and non-governmental organizations should be strengthened and
utilized to contribute effectively for community mobilization, information dissemination;
40
Planning Commission Of India “High Level Expert Group Report On Universal Health Coverage For India”
<http://www.uhc-india.org/reports/hleg_report.pdf>accessed on 6th May,2020

16
community based monitoring of health services. A system of the formal grievance redresssal
mechanism should be instituted at the block level to deal with confidential complaints and
grievances about the health services.41

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th

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yashika Goplani is a first year B.A.L.L.B. (Hons.) student from Dharmashastra National
Law University, Jabalpur. She is having 29 publications (Letters to the Editor) in different
newspapers. She is having keen interest in writing and exploring different areas. She is
having good oratory skills and have won prizes during high school days and have
participated in MUNs winning prize in each one of them. She is also a part of the Debate
Society of her college. She was also the city topper in XII standard.She is also interested in
developing her research skills and gaining knowledge on contemporary socio-legal issues.

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