Is healthcare a "right" or a "privilege"??

[kentuck]

[BlueCaliDem]

1. It's a RIGHT. eom

[ZombieHorde]

2. It's not either, but I think we should call it a right. nt

[malthaussen]

3. In natural jurisprudence, it is not a right.

It may, however, be construed as a derivitave right if society so chooses.

Most of our rights are derivative. And almost any of our rights may be withheld at pleasure. We tend these days, however, to dignify as "rights" things we consider to be so terribly important that they need some distinction to elevate them over other issues.

-- Mal

[upaloopa]

4. It is neither. Unless people are willing to go

into the medical professions, that is as doctors and other care givers, scientists and discoverers of cures, suppliers of medical equipment, administrators and investors of capital, there is no health care.
Rather than a right or a privilege it is a service or commodity made available by people that all should have access to.

[MineralMan]

5. It should be a responsibility of society.

I'm not sure it's an absolute right, since it's a service provided by others at some cost. However, an informed society will recognize the value of and responsibility for providing health care to its members. We all will require it, rich and poor alike, so an enlightened society should provide it to every member.

But, what do we do for those who are not members of our society? If it were a genuine right, it should be universally available. I doubt that will ever occur. In an ideal world where it was a universal right, we'd be flying every ebola victim to a location where they could receive the same care the two American healthcare workers received, or creating facilities where the disease is endemic to provide that level of care. I don't see that happening, so it will have to be a responsibility of each society.

[Matrosov]

15. What helped me decide

For a long time, my stance on the matter leaned toward healthcare being a privilege, exactly because "it's a service provided by others at some cost." How can we demand that others help take care of us, at least in helping to finance our healthcare?

What helped me decide that healthcare was an absolutely right was to think of children. Don't children have an absolute right to be taken care of, not just in the way of healthcare but in terms of food, shelter, clothing, and so forth, despite this having to be provided by others at some cost?

A counter-argument would be, "But children do not have mental, physical, and financial means to care for themselves!" Well, the same could be said for many seniors and for those who have mental or physical disabilities.

Furthermore, very few people in general would be able to visit a doctor and pay for everything in cash without any other payers involved. In other words, most people would not be able to afford healthcare without the financial help of others. That's why we pool our money in government healthcare programs and private insurances, where those who do not need healthcare at the moment nevertheless help provide healthcare to others by continuing to pay into these "pools."

[deathrind]

27. /\ This

[cornball 24]

6. Bernie is RIGHT, imo.

[City Lights]

7. I agree with Bernie. It's a right. nt

[hifiguy]

8. In any society that purports to call itself civilized,

the good Senator is 100% correct.

[Doctor_J]

9. in every other developed country it's a right

Here it's a commodity. Similarly with education and a pension

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Actually It's An Entitlement

But we can't use that co-opted word anymore because it now means something different than what it is supposed to mean.

But, certainly people are ENTITLED to receive the medical care they need to live healthy lives.

[Cosmocat]

11. It's a right only if republicans say it is ...

nm

[Lochloosa]

12. Being on the Left it's a Right.

[TampaAnimusVortex]

13. Rights aren't contingent on populations...

Last edited Fri Aug 22, 2014, 04:34 PM - Edit history (1)

A right should be a right if your in a country of 350 million, or a city of 5 million, or a small town of 1000, or a commune of 50, or an island of 2 or 1.

Figure out what your rights are on if you were the sole inhabitant of an island, and you can extrapolate your rights in the countless throngs.

[kentuck]

18. An island of only one person would not have the means...

for food, shelter, or healthcare if there was no other society. But, I see your point.

[TampaAnimusVortex]

33. Tom Hanks' character in Castaway had food, shelter, and healthcare.

Granted, he didnt have the right (or ability) to make anyone else provide it to him. He certainly had every right to work towards that himself.

[Adrahil]

14. A Constitutional right? No. An ethical right? Yep. NT

[GeorgeGist]

16. Responsibility is the term ...

in a civilized society.

[riseabove]

17. It's a privilege of course... You can't expect doctors to work for free. Their school cost money

Their time at the hospital cost money, as they too need to earn money for a living.

So why should people be entitled to free healthcare?

I like the Norwegian system. I believe they tax everyone for universal healthcare, but you also have to pay a $2000 deductible before any healthcare kicks in.

Make that deductible $3000-4000 in America and call it a deal!


Edit: And the post above me has it spot on as well. I can't argue that people in America should be entitled to free healthcare if they aren't going to take care of themselves either. We have a disgusting obesity rate, fast food diets, the smoking. You know how much it cost to keep someone in ICU?? Like 10k a day. We have shootings, stabbings, skateboarders breaking bones, x-games, smoking... IMHO there is no way America's lifestyle could sustain us having a true universal healthcare system without taxes going through the roof..

If America wants universal healthcare, or think it should be a privilege, our lifestyles would have to change as well!

[antigop]

19. a right, according to Article 25 of UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Last edited Fri Aug 22, 2014, 05:25 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

[antigop]

20. a right, according to Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-dorlester/guaranteed-health-care-in_b_280528.html

Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution, drafted by your right-wing Bushies in 2005 and ratified by the Iraqi people, includes state-guaranteed (single payer) healthcare for life for every Iraqi citizen.

Article 31 reads:

"First: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State shall maintain public health and provide the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and health institutions.

Second: Individuals and entities have the right to build hospitals, clinics,or private health care centers under the supervision of the State, and this shall be regulated by law."

There are other health care guarantees, including special provisions for children, the elderly, and the handicapped elsewhere in the 43-page document.

[antigop]

21. a right, according to the Constitution of the World Health Organization

http://www.who.int/governance/eb/constitution/en/

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the
fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race,
religion, political belief, economic or social condition.

[antigop]

22. a right, according to the NHS Constitution

http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsandpledges/NHSConstitution/Documents/2013/the-nhs-constitution-for-england-2013.pdf

Access to health services:
You have the right to receive NHS
services free of charge, apart from
certain limited exceptions sanctioned
by Parliament.

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. Healthcare requires someone's labor. Can you demand someone to labor for you and call it a right?

I don't understand that.

What if no one wanted to become a doctor?

What happens to a person's right to healthcare in that case?

[raven mad]

24. I think there are healers out there who would be healers regardless.

Not all of them are in it for the money and prestige. If the education were provided at a reasonable cost, we would have a LOT more doctors/PA's/nurses/EMTS than we do now. Instead, they have to scramble for years and years to pay off loans just to attend med school. Education should also be a RIGHT.

[treestar]

25. It originally was

The medicine man took care of everyone. When it became a paid proposition, it started to get derailed.

[BaggersRDumb]

26. Depends on who you ask

If you are asking someone like David Koch he would assure you it is a privilege, a privilege he can afford the best of and that you might not be able to afford any of...


If you are asking a non sociopath, they will say it is a right.

[surrealAmerican]

28. It's a necessity ...

... so we ought to treat it more like a right than a privilege, even though it is neither.

[PeteSelman]

29. It should be a right.

Currently, it's a privilege.

[Doctor_J]

30. I see the Ron Paul wing of our party is here in force

See replies numbered 17, 23.

[Boom Sound 416]

31. It seems to be a commodity

Unfortunately

[Skittles]

32. it is inhumane for it not to be considered a right