Do we have a right to health care?

Question

I happen to believe that everyone owns their own bodies, and therefore they own their own labor. Health care is a service, provided by someone who has devoted a large investment of time and money to the trade. They should be able to sell their service at a rate reflective of their investment in learning it, and patients should be able to negotiate for a fair price for services performed. However, if we have a RIGHT to health care then doctors MUST perform their trade regardless of price simply because the patient NEEDS their service. In effect it is coercing the doctor to labor based not upon a mutually advantageous contract, but rather upon a definition of need defined by somebody else. And that seems inherently wrong to me. Can anyone show me the flaw in my logic without resorting to emotional appeals? Can you prove that we have a right to health care?

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You may say that the service is priceless to the patient, but it's not to the doctor. A doctor who makes his service too expensive won't make any money at all. Is it better to make a little money a whole bunch of times, or a lot of money once or twice? I feel that doctors would be compelled to answer to the market price of their service, which is what people are willing and able to pay. The market WOULD work in this case, as doctors who performed cheaper would get more business. You can be the greatest surgeon in the world, but if everybody goes to Nick Riviera (Simpsons reference) because you charge too much, then what is your only option?

Answer 1

it is amazing how most people who have answered can not comprehend your question.

The answer is no... we do not have the right to health care. Health care is a private industry and like every other "product" out there, there has been time, money, effort and research involved in bringing that product to market. The cost of that product is determined by the costs associated with the research and or the training to supply or perform that service. A doctor, who chooses to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to educate him or herself and all the time educating themselves and finally all the costs associated with the practice, should be allowed to make a fair wage for their services. If it has been deemed as a right for people to have healthcare the government would then dictate the fee for that service. This is why many Doctors from Canada are flocking to the U.S. to set up their practices. You also do not have a right to healthcare because you pay nothing into the healthcare system. You gain the right to have healthcare services performed when you purchase a policy. Remember... socialized programs DO NOT WORK... look at Social Security... not too healthy there.

Just because I may need a car to get to work... doesn't mean I have the right to go to a dealership and demand they give me a car. People have to get off this idea that they have a right to anything they think they need. Your rights in this country afford you freedom of choices, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and an equal opportunity to succeed. No where does it say we will hand you everything you want.

Answer 2

well... the question is...

how much are you willing to pay for good health... and good health care?

no one really WANTS TO NEGOTIATE about a medical procedure.... they want you to make them LIVE LONGER...

who's going to take the cheap doctor?

the market doesn't work, because the product your selling is really priceless... if you don't live, you don't care how much it costs... and life is the key issue here...

who do you know that "shops around" for the cheapest health care? I don't know one person?

health care is fundamentally different than almost every other good that is sold and traded...

now that only explains why our system doesn't work (as EXTREME costs seem to prove)

secondly, I don't know if we have the "right" but at what point do you do what is best for the people? many don't have health care now, and I personally don't think it's in the best interest of the country to have so many without proper care... and almost any doctor will tell you, emergency care, isn't proper care...

it seems inherently wrong to me to promote a failing system that's only ballooning out of control that's actually costing people their lives... literally, I know several that have died because insurance companies won't approve their "special care" or they didn't get any preventative treatment due to the fact they couldn't afford it and found out about an ailment too late...

I don't think that's right either... in fact, I think it's A LOT worse than social health care... personally...

which is more important... lives or money? maybe you think that's just an "emotional plea"...

EDIT: ever seen how much specialists charge? clearly something isn't working...

again, people don't say "eh, he's too expensive"... they say "that's what insurance is for"...

ideally you're correct, but the system is not set up ideally and costs don't seem to have any market cap, as they have been rising much faster than the rate of inflation...

Answer 3

I'm am American who's been living in Canada for 8 years now. In the states, I had good medical coverage. I never had to wait more than a day for a dr. appt. In Canada I have medical coverage, but what good does it do me when I have to wait weeks to get into my doctor and up to a year to see some specialists! In the USA, even if you don't have medical coverage, you can still receive treatement. Most hospitals have signs posted in their emergency room saying that you can not be refused treatment due to no insurance. Sure, you may end up owing money, but at least you can get treatment and even surgery. In Canada, you might have to wait up to 6 months or more for cancer surgery, even if you have a brain tumor! It's so scary to me up here. I'm terrified that I'll need surgery and not be able to get it in time. People die waiting. So what good is this supposedly 'free' medical. I say you get what you pay for - just how much is a 'free' doctor worth? There's no reason for a doctor up here to care if he treats you right or not. They have such a long waiting list, they don't care if you don't like them and quit going to them. If you think you have a doctor who's not too good, you feel like you're stuck with them, because it's almost impossible to get into a another doctor, no one is taking new patients. I much prefer the American medical system.

Answer 4

Well, what amendment protects it? Oh, there is no amendment for that. But the declaration of independence does say the gov't should only be their to guard the people's natural rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness). It shouldn't get involved in anything but keeping the country secure, giving them services, and one other thing I can't remember. But, it doesn't matter if I can remember the last one because health care should definitely be provided if it is a case that is involving an unneccessary death or is halting your pursuit of happiness. But, if it is a bunch of damned illegal immigrants using the govt's money (our taxes) to take care of their freaking **** then we should forget it. Nowhere in the decl. of inde. does it say we should also give free money to illegal immigrants. They are illegal and are not citizens therefore are not American(ized) therefore do not fall under the decl. o inde. I think insurance for healthcare and healthcare only should be provided to CITIZENS OF AMERICA ONLY with a possible raise in taxes so the gov't can pay for it if somebody ends up in the hospital and hospital only. Gov't-insured Healthcare should only be provided for problems that stop a person's pursuit of happiness or could stop their life.

Answer 5

Yes you have a right to health care if YOU PAY FOR IT. the gov. is not mom&dad and it is not in the constitution.What happenned to personal responsibility.This myth was created by the labor unions and seeped into public awareness.Now the companies are drowning in health care cost debt and are going broke(chrysler,ford,gm).the foreign cos.(honda,toyota,nissan,etc.) were smart enough to avoid this trap.The moral of the story is there is NO FREE LUNCH ! You are right,its totally wrong and does not work.Socialized medicine is a recipe for disaster.

Answer 6

Everyone should have a right to health care, but
everyone should also buy their own insurance...the
kind they want......not what a government program
would have for you. Most government-run programs
don't do too well, as you probably know. Hospitals
have to absorb millions of dollars of care they provide
for the poor or those without insurance.

Answer 7

That was kind of confusing, but I think I get the main idea of what you are saying. If everyone needs health care, and they don't have the money to pay for it, then what about the doctors? Tax payers already pay for so much, and doctors need money to support themselves and their family, so I believe people need to find work to pay for their own healthcare so tax payers don't.

Answer 8

Nope. Health care is a privilege, not a right.

I asked a similar question yesterday. Hmmmm

Answer 9

I don't think anybody can PROVE anything, though I believe that all humans should have access to some form of healthcare.

Your logic is very nice if you are an MD as number of people in your field are limited by some form of artificial limit. This assures you have a great income as your services very few can attain the status. It is not like there is a seat for everyone who WOULD qualify!

Generally this happens due to the requirements, or to the availability of funds for school, the arbitrary lines drawn in selection and the limited spaces available and further exclusion method of licensing! This assures you a great income compared to others, and if it were a right, no one is asking you to provide it for nothing.

Everything is relative. The government spends huge amounts of money for you to do research. We should expect nothing in return!

The government (which is us) provides hospitals with huge sums of money for hospitals where you practice a lot of you medical practice (generally). These don't belong to you, but are available! The government provides huge sums of money for specialized care (and even those are limited and drives the price up)! Most of you went to school on a low cost federal loan, but your only selfish requirement for being allowed to go to school at our expense, is to pay off a low interest loan and everything else belongs to only you!

Most hospitals enjoy Tax Free status, though as you know that is a misnomer. Not for Profit to hospitals means that they spend every penny they make and show a zero profit at the end of the year! Hospitals make a lot of money. They just don't report that they do!

When given loans, at LOW interest, hospitals agree to give free care until paid off!

Where does it say because we do all this for you that you have no obligation whatsover to anyone but yourself! Do you actually think you even pay close to the real cost of your education. That much of it is subsidesed by others

And then there is the Hippocratic Oath:

With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art. I will not cut persons laboring under the stone, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this work. Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further from the seduction of females or males, of freemen and slaves. Whatever, in connection with my professional practice or not, in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret. While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men, in all times! But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot!

Answer 10

The only Right we have is the Right to Freedom.
The people who try to say we have a "right to this, and a right to that", are the same people who want to take away our Right to Freedom.