What are the advantages and disadvantages of free health care?

The most cliché or redundant quote that I have always heard as a kid from my parents
whenever I was sick was the quote “Health is wealth”. I believe free health care for everyone
would make a huge difference in terms of the whole world’s health in general especially in
countries of great poverty.
There are numerous advantages of free health care. If having the access for health
care is free, then most people would be of healthier state. People who could not afford
expensive medical procedure wouldn’t think twice to have one depending on their health
situation. Take a third world country such as the Philippines for an example where a great
amount of its citizens suffers from poverty. The average rate for a simple check-up is Php500
which is approximately $10. For most Filipinos, that is a large price which hinders them from
considering a check-up and instead they stay home to self-treat themselves with over-the-
counter medicines. Free health care will be able to help people who are really in need of
them. Having access to free health care will give people who are ill the instinct of going to
the any health care facility rather than having second thoughts due to financial instability. In
short, free health care can save lives.
With advantages also comes disadvantages. If the world had free health care, people
would be irresponsible in taking care of themselves and depend solely on health practitioners.
As I studied more about health care, I realized that most chronic illness or diseases are
derived from the things we do to our body such as our diet and our lifestyle. Another
disadvantage I see is the degradation of quality services. Now that the health care is free,
there would be no doubt if the number of patients spikes up from a day-to-day basis. This
may affect the services physicians, or any health care practitioners give. The main goal of
health care providers should be to provide quality services, but in the case of massive
increase of patients, their goal would merely be to treat as much patients as possible.
To conclude, sudden grave changes such as free health care has its advantages and
disadvantages for the reason that it has been in the system for so long.