A Right to Health Care?

A Right to Health Care?
Defining Rights and Privilege

Think About It :

Do we have a right to health care?
If so, How can we claim this right?
How is this right classified--is it a LEGAL right, a MORAL right, or a POLITICAL right?
How does a right to health care CONFLICT with other rights?

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As Munson defines it we seem to have a legal right to health care. Well, in a sense we do... Munson defines legal rights as:

1.) When one party has a definable duty and another party

2.) When one can seek the performance of this duty or damages
in the event that the first party fails to perform the duty.

Munson even gives the example of hiring someone to put a roof on your house and the consequences if it is not done. Under this definition we do have a right to health care, but only those who pay for health care are allowed to claim it. Health care is thus defined as a "contracted" service that is owed to the person who pays the price.

This is not what most people mean when they claim a right to health care. ? Doctors can be held responsible for their actions either criminally or civilly. But this still doesn't guarantee health care as a right to all citizens. A "right" should grant access to everyone, even if they cannot pay.

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Moral

When we look at health care as a moral right we are faced with an entirely different dilemma. Munson points out the problems of claiming a right to health care as a moral right.

First, as a moral right health care would be forced on everyone even though according to ethical theory it is supported by only part of society.

As a moral right, people have a moral duty to ensure that everyone gets the care they need. However, this is a concept that depends on individuals fulfilling their duty to others.

Laws and medical practices can be changed to enforce moral rights, but this is not always the case. Munson points out that moral rights don't necessarily transfer to legal rights and therefore can't be enforced.

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Political

Next we can look at the claim to health care as a political right. This should be the most interesting and controversial of the right to health care claims. Munson points out that anyone attempting to claim health care as a political right is making a false claim.

He also points out the major arguments against this claim.
First is the often used "medical individualism."

This argument is that a right to health care in itself violates the rights of doctors and others in the medical field.Their rights would be violated by being forced into the employment of the government. Munson explains this as a conflict of rights between the patient's right to be cared for and the doctors right to autonomy.

Munson also describes the argument that health care is just one on several rights held members of society. The government could not possible pay for all of these needs.

Health care as a political right means that our government is under pressure to protect autonomy and equality among individuals. This pressure is revealed in political attitudes toward health care.

Do we really want the Federal government
involved in our health care?

It seems that today all you hear about is that HMO's are micro managing health care out of the hands of doctors and into the hands of administrators and accountants.

What happens when the Federal bureaucracy
takes control of the health care system?

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Conflict

There is a problem with health care as a right. Society does not have the resources to support a right to health care. It would be so expensive that quality would almost certainly go down.

There is also a CONFLICT of rights among patients, physicians, employers, and the government.

If we allow a right to health care, we take away from other rights. If we try to achieve too many goals, we fail at all of them. We spend money needed for other "goals" in society. Funding for education, social security, national parks, etc.... all of these are sacrificed if health care is required to be equally available to all people.

Quality of life depends on more than health care.
Over-emphasis of health care devalues other needs of society.

Until these problems are resolved, the claim to health care will remain a privileged claim, based on the ability to pay, or the ability to secure government assistance if we can't.

It's not so bad after all. Doctors are not forced to provide care. The government is not forced to allocate funds it doesn't have. Patients can choose their doctors. And there are limits on the government's control over a delicate part of our lives.