A right winger – no names mentioned, of course. No good argument, nothing, to tell me why the current US healthcare system should stay as it is. My argument is that it boils down to what US Citizens consider ‘rights’ – is access to adequate healthcare a right or a luxury?
My Post:
‘Hi [Radio Host]
As an English person living in the US, I am taking great interest in health care reform. Whilst there are advantages and disadvantages to all healthcare proposals, it is my opinion that the debate should center on whether or not Americans consider access to healthcare a right, or a luxury. If it is to be a right, then the decision has to center on whether to go fully or partially socialized so that the poor and disadvantaged who cannot get access to quality insurance can get help as the current way of doing things marginalizes those who are unemployed, poor, or over 55 due to the prohibitive cost.
Maybe you should ask listeners this question as a poll – do you consider healthcare a right, or a luxury? If people say a right, then the hard choices come up – how to include everyone without losing the right to choose as you rightly address as a concern with fully socialized medicine?’
Response to my post:
I think that establishing “rights” to access to resources is nuts
You have the right to speak, to own property, to engage in legal activities
If you want to establish rights to access resources…i certainly need
Water most…so I should have the right to have someone else pay my water ibll\
Heat is essential for life in most of north America…so we need a right to heat (or energy)
Food comes next…so I should have a right to have food at no cost to me
Housing is more essential than health care…but less than food and water
Finally…way down the list…after water, heat, food and housing…comes health care
Should all of those things be rights
My response – I only got a ‘thanks’ in reply to this…
‘Hi [Radio Host]
Thank you for responding! I do enjoy a good debate on issues like these because I like to see what all the arguments for and against are.
You raise a good point about rights – what should be deemed a ‘right’ for people? That was the point I was raising – should healthcare be a ‘right’ or not? Should it be, like water, or shelter, or food, considered a necessity? Many people think it should not be a right, that we chould be free to choose as you point out. However, what if you have a chronic condition that requires constant medication such as a heart condtion? Then healthcare becomes not a choice, but a necessity to stay alive. What about the person who breaks a leg or ankle or gets injured in an accident? Again, healthcare becomes a necessity, not a choice.
What happens then if you cannot afford insurance, lost your benefits, and cannot get/qualify for medicare/medicaid/other assistance? You have to pay, even if you cannot afford it, and there is no choice.
We all need access to healthcare at some point in our lives – accidents, illness, child birth, child care, etc etc all happen. The fact that a high percentage of bankruptcies in the US are due to medical costs plus the high cost overall due to the many emergency room visits the unisured are forced to make should make this point and highlight the prohibitive cost to those who find themselves unable to afford the care they need ( accident for example) because they cannot get access to adequate insurance coverage.
Many people have no choice when it comes to healthcare – they have to have it ( chronic conditions, accidents etc).
So what is the best approach for healthcare in the US? Is it to be considered a ‘right’ and therefore we all pay into some kind of universal plan, like social security, so that if such an emergency arises, or benefits are lost, healthcare is there and one does not have to lose one’s home in the process? This does of course raise issues such as taxes and paying into something that someone with insurance may not use. But that person may need it in the future if they lose their job or cannot afford the premiums, so they are then ‘taking’ after ‘giving’, so to speak.’
