This is not about the role of government and the individual. This is about healthcare, something fundamental that every human being needs. For which it cannot b

This is not about the role of government and the individual. This is about healthcare, something fundamental that every human being needs. For which it cannot be predicted when one needs it, and where need can vary greatly through (in by far most cases) no fault of people themselves (an unpredictable unelastic good). Such matters - often literally of life and death - are not something that ever could be trumped by philosophies about 'roles'. Yes the market works well in most other spheres, yes economic freedoms are important, but no, economic freedoms (or justice) do not trump human life and death, where avoidable (in a civilized society). Economic freedom is just one of the many things people need for happyness. Health and healthcare are another, that is at least as important. And thus the value of economic freedom needs to be balanced out against healthcare. The government just is the mediator. Taxing one sphere of life (economic activity) to ensure justice and security in another that fares better if guided by other principles than profit extracted from individual patients. (individual GPs do profit in the UK system. They, for example, get a bonus if they can make a patient stop smoking, etc. ...speaking of preventative healthcare. They just have less incentive to exploit individual patients (by having them come back later with lung cancer for example) and then charge them to their limit)