The Top 10 Countries with Free Healthcare Services

The excellence and productivity of a country’s health care system can have a colossal impact on its inhabitants’ quality of life. The health of a nation depends mostly on how the system can cater to its people, which is why a satisfactory public health care system is so necessary. Stronger health is the key to human happiness and well-being. It also makes a noteworthy contribution to economic development, as healthy populations live longer, are more productive, and save more. Many factors influence health status and a country’s capability to administer quality health services for its people. Ministries of health are crucial actors, but so are other government departments, donor organizations, civil society groups, and communities themselves.

They say that the best things in life are free: but is that true for healthcare? 

Understanding Free Healthcare vs Universal Healthcare 

Both of these terms are usually used interchangeably but there are differences.

• Universal Healthcare: Universal Healthcare signifies that there is a health care system that grants coverage to at least 90% of citizens.
• Free Healthcare:  Countries with free Healthcare adds that all citizens undergo health care at a very minimal or no cost.

The idea of free healthcare is true and there is a list of countries providing the best healthcare facilities including free healthcare, universal healthcare, or even both. However, there is an extent to which people can take advantage of these facilities.

Below is the list of countries with free healthcare

1. Australia
2. Austria
3. Bahrain
4. Belgium
5. Brunei
6. Canada
7. Cyprus
8. Finland
9. France
10. Germany
11. Greece
12. Hong Kong
13. Iceland
14. Ireland
15. Israel
16. Italy
17. Japan
18. Kuwait
19. Luxembourg
20. New Zealand
21. Norway
22. Portugal
23. Singapore
24. Slovenia
25. South Korea
26. Spain
27. Sweden
28. Switzerland
29. United Arab Emirates
30. United Kingdom

Amongst the long list there are countries which are ranked for providing the best free healthcare facility

1. Sweden

The Swedish health care system is distinguished by high standards of quality care and above-average healthcare spending. About 600,000 Swedes have a private health plan, which is usually covered by their employers and can be useful to skip queues for treatment.

2. Canada

Canada’s publicly funded health care system is a body of socialized health insurance plans administering coverage to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Canada has a remarkably high life expectancy rate, which many associates with the expertise of its health care system.

3. Mexico

Every Mexican citizen is assured a no cost access to healthcare and medicine as stated by the Mexican constitution and made it a reality with the “Institute of Health for Well-being”. The Mexican Federal Constitution hands over main responsibility on the state in providing national health to the population.

4. United Kingdom

Healthcare in the UK has resulted to be reliable and beneficial for citizens and migrant workers. The National Health Service, Scottish and Northern Ireland state programs equip many options for emergency medical treatment.

5. Italy 

The healthcare system in Italy is a regionally established national health service recognized as Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN). It grants coverage to all citizens and residents, with public healthcare largely free of charge.

6. Germany

The healthcare system in Germany is very exceptional but costly. Health insurance is compulsory, and most expatriates have it added to their employment contracts.

7. Australia

Australia’s healthcare system has two main sections: the public health system, and the private health system. A collaboration of private health insurance, Medicare and personal payments covers the medical costs of a patient. This gives Australian residents free treatment in public or private hospitals.

8. France

France has state-run and private hospitals and both maintain a similar degree of supremacy. While having private health insurance isn’t necessary, it is advisable to have when you’re living in France.

9. Austria

Austria has a significant standard of healthcare. Paying into the government health insurance scheme is mandatory for both Austrians and non-natives, with admirable medical facilities and services financed by the taxpayer.

10. New Zealand

The healthcare system in New Zealand is state-sponsored and of very superb quality. It is financed through taxes and gives a no-cost or subsidized medical treatment for residents.

Busting Myths about Universal healthcare 

• People assume that “Universal healthcare”, “ Single-payer”, and “ Medicare for all”; all these are the same

Starting with Universal healthcare, it indicates only that every individual’s healthcare requirements are taken care of, one way or another. Universal healthcare refers to health care systems in which all individuals have insurance coverage.

The Medicare for All Act provides comprehensive health care to every man, woman and child in the country without out-of-pocket expenses. It allows all residents, regardless of their income, to get the health care they need when they need it

Single-payer healthcare guarantees healthcare as a human right. Everyone is given all-inclusive healthcare coverage. “Single-payer” refers to substituting the thousands of for-profit health insurance companies with one entity, most likely the government, solely and exclusively responsible for paying for medical goods and services.

• Universal healthcare has to cost way more

People guess that the sum paid in taxes for healthcare will surely be greater than the amount people and their employers pay in healthcare premiums now. It might cost more, but it doesn’t have to. According to the reports and data, every other advanced country has universal healthcare. Besides, countries with free healthcare cost about half of what the non-universal healthcare countries do.

Now, it’s legitimate that if we simply covered everyone’s healthcare providing them the needful healthcare services all the time, without bringing changes in the system now, then yes, it would cost more. Nevertheless, there are many opportunities to drive the costs of healthcare down. If the same universal health plan also took those opportunities, then no, universal healthcare does not have to cost more.

• Universal healthcare will cost way less

A lot of the people in different countries are opposing universal healthcare and just consider the government screws everything up. We may have doubts about our government to spend money in other areas, but when it comes to reducing the administrative costs of health care, government programs are ten times as efficient as private insurance. Every healthcare system in the world that implements universal care without limiting benefits ultimately provides better care to more people for less money, you can’t assume that it will be way less but surely is beneficial for everyone.

• Universal healthcare means “government-run healthcare,” which means “socialism”

No. Around the world, we see an ample variety of ways to provide healthcare to people. For example, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have “single-payer” systems. Their governments pay for care that’s delivered privately. Great Britain and Spain, on the other hand, have national health services. The government reimburses the doctors and owns the hospitals.

Germany and France have multiple payers. Both the countries have private insurance companies, and public ones for the poor and disabled, all tightly monitored and paid out of various funds. But one way or another everyone is protected.

• Universal healthcare would mean waiving today’s “free market” healthcare

Today’s market is not free, it’s highly organized. It’s a restricted market in which the ultimate customer is you. It’s not a private system or a government system. It’s a private system that is bound by the government under all sorts of legal and licensing requirements which have been built up by the healthcare industry itself over the last century.

• A universal system cannot work, it cannot sustain itself if people who are not working (and therefore not paying taxes) can use it

Certainly, it can. That’s what a universal system is for, to make sure people can get support whether they are in a situation right now to pay into it or not. It spreads the cost across generations, across rich and poor parts of the country. This is what Medicare, Medicaid, Federally Qualified Community Clinics, CHIP funds for children’s healthcare, and other such programs are for, to support people who are not working, retired, or with too a low income to be paying into the system.

• Immigrants unavoidably draw more out of a universal healthcare system than they pay into it

This is probably false. There have been multiple studies, looking at the question in various ways. Even new immigrants are desperate to make a living, raise business for their families. They want to be taxpayers as early as possible, and most of them accomplish to do that.

• Research and innovation are what make healthcare expensive. If we reduce the amount we pay for healthcare, we will get less research and innovation

No, research and innovation are not what makes healthcare costly. No data is supporting this impression. Research and innovation do not need to be financed only by higher and higher costs for patient care. There are many other ways, such as direct government grants, private funding for startup companies, pharmaceutical companies, and device manufacturers financing their research.

And if you think about it, you’ll see that much research and innovation could be used to decrease the cost of healthcare rather than raise it. Functional medicine can cure chronic diseases at a much earlier and more feasible stage. The right kinds of research and innovation can drop costs.

In drawing things to a close, excellent, and affordable health care services can usually be found in unforeseen places, all over the world. It may be a health care bureau providing free malaria testing and treatment at International border crossings or Public health campaigns providing free influenza or tetanus vaccines.