JMA: Health care not a right, I suggest an alt. opportunity

[Jordan Myska Allen]

I do not believe that health care is a right. I believe that rights are things that we inherently have, things that need to be protected but not provided. The right to life, for example, is something we already have (life) and doesn’t cost anything to “give” because we already have it. It needs to be protected. The right to free speech, for example, is something we already have (speech) and doesn’t cost anything to “give” because we already have it. The right to do what we want with our own bodies, as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else, is something we’re born with. It can be taken away, like anything (and has been many times – Cubans don’t have a right to leave their country under their law), but maintaining it doesn’t cost anyone anything else.

Health care is something we may want and choose to provide, just like education, but it is not a basic human right. Health care is not something we as humans inherently have; it is a service that must be rendered at a cost to someone. Someone must pay for it – doctors, donors, rich people, other patients, a society through taxes, or by other means. It is something we lack that must be provided, it is not something we have that can be protected.

This distinction is important because it changes all the arguments for and against a government providing health care. The answer to this month’s question, given this framework, is that no society should not be EXPECTED to provide ANY amount of healthcare, BUT as decent people who HAVE THE MEANS, it is something we should strive towards as a goal.

Another way of saying it; It depends on the society. Rights, like the right to not be enslaved, are expectations that all societies must fulfill, no matter how developed or how many resources they have. This is idea of health care is no right, it is a choice a society makes based on its preferences, people, resources, and history.

In America we do have a lot of money and an infrastructure that can support providing the basic needs for all our citizens (though perhaps not all the citizens of the world). In this case I think society should provide the basic necessities of health care, but not government. This is because society can provide while maintaining freedoms and without violence, whereas a government must use violence to accomplish anything. [1]

As a modern, affluent American society, we have an opportunity that has almost never before been available to us. We can provide health care, at least the basic needs, voluntarily, through greater support of private non-profit organizations.

Private non-profits are incredibly efficient and effective in addressing the specific needs of their local populations. Governments are not. We as individuals can do at least three things.
(1) We can contribute more to the existing organizations, through monetary, in-kind, and volunteering donations.
(2) We can foster this attitude in our society by including it more often in our discussions, media, and education system
(3) We can create new organizations to better address current and new problems as they arise.
- For example, I am ignorant on the fact of whether or not this exists, and if it does why it isn’t a greater success. A non-profit insurance agency could charge lower premiums because they are just looking to cover costs and not turn a huge profit. In a competitive market, these agencies should become more popular and successful, and allow them to provide cheaper insurance to low income families.
- In addition, they could provide preventative care, which could drive down more costs. “In 2006, insurance companies covered 1.3 million coronary angioplasty procedures, at roughly $48,000 each, and 448,000 coronary bypass operations at a cost of $99,000. Yet, things like nutrition counseling, exercise programs and stress-reduction classes, which studies show could prevent as much as 90 percent of all heart disease, are typically not covered by insurance.” [2]

So this is a call to anyone reading this. Let’s quit trying to get “the government” to do it for us, and let us do it ourselves. Hillary Clinton made health care a huge priority and spent millions and millions on her presidential bid. What if she had spent that on starting a non-profit insurance company in New York? What if she created a model that could be replicated in other states and cities? How much time and effort and money have you spent personally on pushing for universal health care, or some sort of reform? What if you were instead already saving people’s lives?

We have an opportunity, given the cultural climate in this century, that has probably never existed before in history. (1) The average person in our country cares more about the well being of strangers than we ever have before. Our definition of the “in group,” is more universal than it ever has been. 70 years ago women weren’t considered equal enough to vote. 50 years ago white people didn’t even want people with different skin color in their schools. These changes means that people are more willing to support each other than ever before. We are also now more affluent than ever, so we have the money to spend. [3] We’re more able.

Finally, I believe that the recent governmental reforms have little effect on this. Don’t get complacent. We’re more willing and more able than ever before to take matters into our own hands, and give people better lives through providing basic health care. We don’t have to force anyone who isn’t interested to get involved. We do it not because it’s an expectation or a right, but because we can.

Footnotes:
[1] A different discussion, but here’s the basic gist. Gov’t provides health care using taxes. If I don’t want to pay taxes, I’m jailed, restricting my freedom. If I want to resist jail, violence will be used to jail me. Therefore, a government providing health care must use violence.
[2] “Envisioning the Future of Healthcare,” Lisa Marshall. Natural Awakenings. Jan 2010. http://www.naswvamag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=86:envisioning-the-future-of-healthcare&catid=52:healing-ways&Itemid=77
[3] Can’t find the data on this, but I know that GPD and GNP have increased more than inflation over the past hundred years, past twenty years, etc.