The government's role in health care is certainly in no sense all positive, but it can and does contribute to positive changes in health care through a number of avenues. First, it can improve access to health care for people that would otherwise have limited access or no access. For example, elderly individuals on a fixed income often cannot afford traditional health insurance, but Medicare and Medicaid fill that gap by providing them with health care benefits at low cost to them. Although many individuals need "gap insurance" to cover the gap between what Medicare and Medicaid provide and what they actually need, the advantage of having government-funded health insurance is excellent, because health insurance has become less affordable and many people without Medicare or Medicaid would have to do without insurance altogether otherwise.
Another positive change in health care that is due to the government's involvement is the setting of minimum standards of care. This can include everything from the reliability of a hospital's equipment to its procedures. Government standards are essential for quality medical care, because in countries that do not have them, the quality of medical care declines precipitously. Most hospitals and doctors today are cutting as many corners as possible to save money, and without government regulations on quality, people's lives could be endangered without government regulations that ensure a minimum standard of care.
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