If healthcare is a social good, the health of an individual is ______ for society as a whole.

• A. Detrimental
• B. Neutral
• C. Beneficial
• D. Irrelevant

Answer: (C)

When healthcare is treated as a social good, improving an individual’s health creates benefits for society beyond the person. A healthy individual is more productive, can work and contribute to families and communities, and typically uses fewer emergency or long-term healthcare resources. Health also has positive externalities: when a person is healthier, the spread of contagious diseases is reduced, protecting others. These spillover benefits show that individual health improves overall social welfare, so it is beneficial for society as a whole. It wouldn’t be harmful, have no effect, or be irrelevant, because the social value lies in the gains health provides to everyone connected to that person.