Question

Is health care a right or a privilege? Do we have a fundamental right to health care and it is the obligation of government to secure that right? Comparing the health care philosophies of other countries explain your point of view using specific examples.

Answer 1

Healthcare is a privilege.

In the USA, we are often given rights that are privilege in the other countries. Rights such as free speech and right of protection against unfair search etc. are often not available in many countries. However, since we take these rights for granted, many of us believe that healthcare is a right. However, I do not agree.

If healthcare is our right then we make the assumption that government should take care of our healthcare. This means if we fall sick, we should be provided insurance and medicine by the government. In this case we expect the government to act on behalf of the society. However, if we expect the government to be responsible for our body and health that would also mean that our body and health would not be our property. If tomorrow an individual needs a kidney government can force use undergo kidney donation scheme. Would we be alright with that? I do not think so. This is why we cannot expect government to take care of our health and body if we do not believe that government owns us. Next, think about the activities such as junk food, smoking, drinking, etc. These are all harmful to our body. If we are given freedom to indulge in these activities, it is only fair and just that any damage caused by such activities should be our responsibility. Based on these ideologies many of the countries do not buy into the idea that healthcare is a right. The same thing should be followed in USA.

In USA, healthcare is a privilege and while the government should promote healthcare, they cannot be held responsible for every citizen’s health. However, I do believe government work towards breaking the monopolistic behavior of the healthcare providers and reduce the cost of healthcare in USA. The cost of healthcare in USA is several times higher than many other countries while the quality is maybe slightly better.