Supporters of universal access favor a greater public investment through government intervention.
They argue that health care is social or collective responsibility and that good health is a social benefit—a healthy population is more productive.
. Likewise, illness is a social drain because the sick are not productive (Harry, 2002; Smith, 2002).
They also contend that universal access to health care is more cost effective because preventive medicine costs less than emergency treatment or intensive care (Harry, 2002).