Where in the U.S. Constitution does it say "free healthcare"?

Question

I must have missed that part

For the last half century, Canada and the European nations nationalized their medical industries and ever since have been struggling to live up to their promise of “health insurance and quality health care” for all. Huge waiting lists for care and visitations with specialists, a lack of sophisticated medical equipment, rising costs (which must be met by rising taxes), and a general increase in dissatisfaction with government-run health care are typical in all countries where the government, literally, calls the shots

I'm sure that if the Founding Fathers had intended to place "free healthcare" in the Constitution, they certainly would have done so

It is the responsibility of each and every American to provide for his own medical needs, by contracting for such services on the free and open market. The only effective role Congress or the President can play in any debate about health care is to admit that socialist medicine has always been a failure

Answer 1

It doesn't. But our up and coming generation is the NOW generation. They want everything given to them NOW. They feel that they're owed and owe nothing in return. I love how many use Europe as an example and yet, many have probably never stepped foot onto European soil.

What a bunch of spoiled rotten, demanding brats! Let them earn their way, just like we did.

I say, take off those rose-colored glasses and wake up.

Answer 2

Funny how they remove our rights while ignoring existing immigration laws and occupying the wrong country and building a highly paid mercenary army with limited over sight and few rules. While I don't always agree with the ACLU I'm glad that they are there as a principled organization. It's pretty clear what this administrations real intentions were. Lets hope that things don't stay this way for long. Actually the ACLU looks after every ones' rights- even to a Nazi's right to free speech. It is the Principle of rights that they protect. This is a free country even though we may all hate Nazis. It may well be true if only because it is under reported and the ACLU makes a point of bringing things out in the open- are we getting the news that we used to get? So many things have been hushed up by a secretive and nefarious administration.

Answer 3

Look, all I know are the facts. There are approx. 300 million Americans. There are approx. 40 million who are said to not have any health insurance. So far, 260 million are in good shape. Let's look at the others.

Billionaires- do not need health insurance

Young working people- can afford it don't want to spend the money on health insurance.

Small business owners- cannot afford the premiums

People who work in jobs that do not provide benefits.

There are many ways each of these groups can be accommodated to get them insured at the State level. For instance, methods can be found to permit small business owners to pool together for cheaper group rates. Some jobs that do not provide benefits can be encouraged to by tax incentives etc.

When you consider that truly poor people already receive free comprehensive health care through Medicare, there is a far more manageable number of people who lack coverage. It seems ludicrous to scrap the best health care system in the world when the lions share of citizens are already covered. When all that really needs to be addressed is the remaining people who want coverage and cannot afford or qualify for it.

That is where we need to focus attention and resources. I don't know how many of you young people are aware of exactly how horrible the Universal Healthcare Plan that Hillary created while Bill was president but it makes interesting reading. It will make your hair stand on end.

It includes things like a life time cap on benefits. Once a patient reached the maximum allowed they would be wheeled out of the hospital and dumped in the street. Any doctor who provided care outside of the government controlled system would be jailed. So, the doctors would have to just step over you as you lie in the gutter.

Doctors could not select what type of medicine they would practice. The government would dictate who would be a General Practicioner and who would practice what specialty the doctor would have no say.

Patients have not choice of doctor even if you are willing to pay extra. In fact to pay extra for health care is punishable by jail as is accepting payment for the doctor.

Hillary-care was the most intrusive, socialist and monsterous naltional health care plan ever devised. It was so hideous that even her own party was afraid to support it.

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Answer 4

If the government got it's nose completely out of the health care industry, let the free market handle it, and get rid of medicare and medicaid, which is responsible for rapid health care inflation. Plus all the damned lawsuits against doctors and medical facilities further drive up the cost. We should also allow people from CA to get health insurance from a company in WI. Instead of limiting them to local companies.

Health care is NOT a right, to some of the above posters, yes we do have forms of socialism like: roads, school, social security, welfare, police etc. Only the basics should be provided by the government like: police, fire, military and roads. Everything else should be privatized like: schools, welfare should be through charities, social security, heck you can even make the arguement to privatize the providing of roads. Mikelew007, those pell grants and student loans given out by the government, get paid back you know. It's not given away like welfare money is. The money does come from tax payers, but at least the money comes back, unlike the wasted money of welfare and such.
http://www.lawrence.edu/sorg/lawrentian/extracting_socialized_medicine.htm

Answer 5

No it doesn't however if one looks towards the declaration of independence, Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness would imply that we need to care for our own! As part of the Health care industry, I am an administrator at a major hospital, I know first hand that there is a major dilemma in American health care, the problem is a conglomeration of many, too many ambulance chasing lawyers who will sue at the drop of a hat, which effects the malpractice insurance professionals must carry, the high cost of research, the profit made by medial supply companies and drug companies, the AMA, or the physician's mafia, wages, as one expects to earn a decent salary after investing the time and money to become a professional, over worked interns and residents, which contribute to errors, and those that stiff hospitals for their bills, all contribute to the high cost of medicine. However, in this nation we have the resources to care for every man, woman and child, but instead we chose or our leaders chose to waste money on overseas projects, and get into wars because we can't mind our own business.

Answer 6

Look at what we have in the US with our private insurance plans - rising costs to subscribers, increasing waiting times for procedures and difficulty in getting appointments and a general increase in dissatisfaction. Not too different than what you describe in Canada and Europe.

And yet the people in those countries with government-run health care have longer life expectancies than we have in the US.

By advocating a free and open market to control costs for health care you are in effect telling people they will have to limit their access to top notch treatment in order to keep their costs down or give up having some kinds of treatment. Isn't that exactly what you are complaining about with "socialized medicine"? Is the answer really the Walmart model of cheap fgoods and service provided by Chinese practitioners?

You will have to come up with better evidence that socialized medicine has always been a failure.

Answer 7

So you only care what the Constitution says when if comes to "free healthcare", but everything else is immune from what's written in the Constitution?

Life must be pretty easy for you. You can be openly hypocritical without any regret. I wish I didn't have a conscience.

Answer 8

Where is it excluded in the constitution?

I don't recall the amendment that states that "The Federal Government shall not infringe on the right of American's to not have medical coverage." We should have an honest debate about the policy implications of health care, but the Constitution should be little part of this debate seeing as it neither mandates nor prohibits universal health care.

Answer 9

It is not the Federal Government responsibility, it could be said to the individuals states. Which Mitt Romney knew and took action on in Mass. Basically the states don't want to foot the bill so the socialist are attempting to take it over. Odd how they won't do so with weather related nation wide insurance, concept requested after hurricanes, but say it's okay for medical.

"The state governments have the greatest influence over most Americans' daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution, government, and code of laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between individual states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education." -Wikepidia

Answer 10

The Constitution doesn't specify on matters of policy.

But I've noticed something--the right wing ers who whine about "health care" never object to the government providing subsidized mortgages for their houses, or free roads (both pure socialism, BTW). They never object to having tax shelters for their IRAs--with the lost tax money having to be made up elsewhere. They never object to the free education they and their kids get in public school (except when a nonwhite child also benefits, of course).

Just as soon as they are willing to give up all their goodies, they can talk about health care not being a proper role for the state. Until, they're just greedy hypocrites whowant to take everyone else's tax money for their own benefit

Answer 11

The constitution is only a human written and ratified document.

Free health care allows all people the receive what many people would call a fundamental right, health.

YOu´re allowed a gun and you can defend yourself, but if you´ve got cancer, sorry, go to hell, do not pass go, do not pick up life insurance, etc etc.

America works like this. Rich people have influence, they have money to pay for their health care. They know they will have to pay more if it is a national health care system, and they couldn´t give a damn about anybody else.
The poor people without influence, don´t get health care, they just roll over and die.

The founding fathers were the most liberal politicians of their time, in the whole world. They did not intend for free health care, because at the time it was impossible.

It might be the responsibilty of each american to find their own way of getting health care, but it does not mean it is right or fair.
Who are you to judge whether i am deserving of medical treatment or not? Why is money the only deciding factor.

Maybe the poor should force the rich to go and get more medical care, ie, rise up against the corruption and selfishness that is a major problem in the USA.