In my opinion, the U.S. government should not be able to force American citizens to do ANYTHING. While I believe there should be restrictions in place for certain actions to take place, i.e. having proper ID to travel via airplane, I see no good reason for the U.S. government to force people to get healthcare. This creates a tyrannical government and should be avoided.
As someone who leans toward Libertarian values, the power of choice is incredibly important to me. I recognize the incredible amount of benefit that American citizens could receive if there was a form of government-provided healthcare. This could be beneficial in providing many more citizens with the care they otherwise would not receive. The cost of healthcare could significantly decrease as well if insurance is no longer necessary. As the middle-man between healthcare, businesses, and citizens, insurance has helped cause a huge rise in the price of healthcare.
There are some downfalls with the government providing healthcare to all citizens. First is the free-rider problem in which citizens who add no benefit to society, possibly by not working, use taxpayers' money for their benefit. Additionally, there is the case for people with extreme medical cases. The cost of this special and advanced care surely would not be the same as the average citizen is receiving. Another pitfall of government-provided care would be advancement in this sector. Competition between businesses breeds innovation and a lack of innovation would hinder all Americans in this case.
Countries such as Germany have government-funded healthcare and clinics. Any citizen who wants to receive better care than the already provided care is free to do so, but if they receive their medical care on the free market, they give up their ability to receive treatment at the government facilities. At first glance, I like this idea. It creates a standard of practices that all citizens are eligible for, but does not hinder those who can and want to pay for better services.
