... lead to an improvement in total economic welfare. Therefore the government offers healthcare as a public good. The government offers healthcare as a public good however must offer it collectively, because a public good is typically non-excludable i.e. public goods cannot be restricted to those who have paid for it. Also a public good is non-rivalry in consumption i.e. the consumption of a public good by one person does not decrease the availability of the good to others. The advantage of this would be that healthcare is free at the point of use ad is offered to all people equally, and in theory people are paying their taxes therefore keeping the National Health Service working effectively and efficiently. However as healthcare is non-rivalry in consumption non-payers can take a free ride and enjoy the benefits of consumption ("free riders"). This creates market failure. More "free riders" within the market means ...

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