Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare – IELTS Writing Task 2

Advantage Disadvantage essays, like ‘Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare’, are an integral part of IELTS Writing Task 2. Fortunately, it is easy to identify a topic due to the mention of the terms ‘advantages’, ‘disadvantages’, ‘benefits’, ‘drawbacks’ or other similar terms in the topic itself.

Usually, in this kind of essay, you have to note down the benefits and drawbacks of a particular aspect, like studying abroad, tourism, school systems, etc. As a result, the structure of the essay is comparatively easy to frame as all you need is four paragraphs – Introduction, Body Paragraph 1 (advantages), Body Paragraph 2 (disadvantages) and Conclusion.

We will have a look at an advantage and disadvantage essay – Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare- with Sample Answers ranging from Band 7 to 9, accompanied by vocabulary which will not only boost your IELTS preparation but also enhance your word bank. If you feel you need to practise more essays to master this task, you can check out the IELTS Writing Task 2 Practice Tests.

Let’s have a look at the Advantages and Disadvantages essay – Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare with three expert-curated sample answers ranging from Band 7 to 9.

Question

Outline

Check Out – Increase your Speaking & Writing Score with Synonyms and Antonyms

Band 7 Sample Answer for Writing Task 2 Question – Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare 

It is the responsibility of any government to offer free healthcare to its citizens. While this approach has its advantages, it also comes with its disadvantages. This essay will point out both these sides.

The two most important are an increase in the number of treated patients and a decrease in the frequency of disease epidemics. Most people cannot visit doctors for minor illnesses because they cannot afford the high cost of medical services and treatments. Low-income members of society have continued disease, which gets worse. So, free healthcare by the government reduces the healthcare cost for everyone and offers free services to people in need. Also, offering free medical care and registering people in high-quality treatment programs could prevent disease transmission. Many people schedule regular doctor’s appointments, which means that when a health problem improves, it will likely heal much more quickly.

However, there are many drawbacks to free medical care. One of the primary problems is that providing free medical care to everyone requires an enormous budget, which is very challenging for governments in developing and underdeveloped nations to handle. Again, hospitals and medical facilities usually overbook their patients. For example, a physician must see and tend to many patients, which reduces medical staff productivity. It puts patients’ medical care at risk.

In summary, there are benefits and drawbacks to free national healthcare. Governments should take appropriate steps to maintain the quality of their healthcare facilities and consider it essential. (242 words)

Vocabulary 

• Approach (Noun)

Meaning: a way of dealing with a situation or problem

E.g.: This is a wrong approach to solve the mathematical problem.

• Frequency (Noun)

Meaning: the number of times something happens within a particular period, or the fact of something happening often or a large number or times

E.g.: The frequency of road accidents has increased quite a lot this year.

• Epidemics (Noun)

Meaning: the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time

E.g.: In an epidemic, a large number of people lost their lives.

• Minor (Adjective)

Meaning: not very important or valuable

E.g.: There are minor problems that you will face on this road trip.

• Transmission (Noun)

Meaning: the act of transferring something from one spot to another

E.g.: The enemy country is planning the transmission of the virus to its neighbor.

• Drawbacks (Noun)

Meaning: a disadvantage or problem; the negative part of a situation

E.g.: There are lots of drawbacks of this position, but you have to try to know.

• Enormous (Adjective)

Meaning: very large in size, quantity, or extent

E.g.: The enormous elephant stepped out of the forest on the road.

• Productivity (Noun)

Meaning: the state or quality of being productive

E.g.: We are trying to conduct a test on the productivity of the employees.

Band 8 Sample Answer for Writing Task 2 Question – Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare 

Governments should offer free healthcare to their citizens as it ensures everyone has access to medical help. However, this comes with both good and not-so-good aspects, which will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, free healthcare means everyone, rich or poor, can see a doctor when they need to. In countries like the United Kingdom, the National Health Service (NHS) provides free medical care to all residents. This ensures that people don’t have to worry about money when they are unwell. Secondly, free healthcare makes people more likely to get check-ups and catch health problems early. Also, government-funded healthcare systems often prioritize public health initiatives, such as vaccination programs and disease prevention campaigns, leading to improved overall health in the population.

But there are challenges, too. To provide free healthcare, the government needs a lot of money. This often means higher taxes for everyone. In Sweden, where healthcare is publicly funded, citizens pay high taxes to support the system. Moreover, free healthcare systems can sometimes be slow and congested. In countries like France, people might have to wait long for routine treatments because so many people use free healthcare services. Additionally, in some government-provided healthcare systems, there may be limitations on the choice of healthcare providers and potential delays in receiving non-urgent treatments due to high demand. This can impact the overall quality of healthcare services.

In conclusion, while free healthcare ensures equal access to medical help, it can be expensive and may lead to longer wait times. Therefore, governments must find a balance to ensure everyone gets the care they need without burdening the people with excessive taxes or long delays. (275 words)

Vocabulary 

• Residents (Noun)

Meaning: a person who lives somewhere permanently or on a long-term basis

E.g.: All the residents of the country are migrating to the developed countries.

• Prioritize (Verb)

Meaning: to decide which of a number of different jobs or tasks are most important or urgent and deal with them first

E.g.: John needs to prioritize his health over work.

• Vaccination (Noun)

Meaning: the process or an act of giving someone a vaccine (= a substance put into a person’s body to prevent them getting a disease)

E.g.: The nurse was calling the parents for the vaccination of their children.

• Congested (Adjective)

Meaning: too blocked or crowded and causing difficulties

E.g.: The buses were congested because of the office time.

• Routine (Adjective)

Meaning: performed as part of a regular procedure rather than for a special reason

E.g.: The doctor told him to go for routine checkups.

• Ensures (Verb)

Meaning: make certain that (something) will occur or be the case

E.g.: Raman should ensure the safety of the animals before taking them out to the park.

• Burdening (Verb)

Meaning: to trouble someone with something difficult or unpleasant

E.g.: Burdening someone with responsibilities is not the correct way to work.

Band 9 Sample Answer for Writing Task 2 Question – Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare 

Vocabulary 

• Guarantee (Verb)

Meaning: provide a formal assurance, especially that certain conditions will be fulfilled relating to a product, service, or transaction

E.g.: Garg did not guarantee the expiry of the product.

• Standing (Noun)

Meaning: position, status, or reputation

E.g.: Respect the social standing of the person in front of you.

• Constraints (Noun)

Meaning: a limitation or restriction

E.g.: There are no constraints on the number of times you can take the UPSC exam.

• Preventive (Adjective)

Meaning: intended to stop something before it happens

E.g.: We should take preventive measures to avoid getting infected.

• Subsidized (Adjective)

Meaning: having part of the cost of production paid in order to keep the selling price low

E.g.: The shopkeeper sells all his goods at a subsidized price and attracts a lot of customers.

• Elevated (Adjective)

Meaning: higher or greater than normal

E.g.: His heartbeat elevated so much that he had to be admitted to the hospital.

• Inefficiencies (Noun)

Meaning: a lack of organization or skill that wastes time, energy, money, etc., or methods or actions that waste time, etc. in this way

E.g.: Due to the inefficiency of the members, the company failed to make any profit this quarter.

• Stifle (Verb)

Meaning: to prevent something from happening, being expressed, or continuing

E.g.: The mother stifled the baby’s cry to protect it from the monster.

• Operational (Adjective)

Meaning: in or ready for use

E.g.: The operational manager of this branch is on leave.

IELTS Writing Task 2 Connectors for Used in the Sample Answers for Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare 

Connectors are used to add coherence to your writing which helps you achieve a high IELTS band score. So, check out the list of connectors used in the above-given sample answers used in IELTS Writing Task 2 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare.

• So
• Also
• However
• Again
• For example
• In summary
• To begin with
• Secondly
• Moreover
• Additionally
• In conclusion
• Therefore
• On the positive side
• For instance
• Furthermore
• Nonetheless
• Besides
• To sum up

Now that you have gone through the sample answers on the topic – Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Providing Free Healthcare – it is time for you to try writing on your own. For that, leave your answers as a comment below or you can use our FREE evaluation service!

Additional Resources

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