Is healthcare a right or a privilege? What should healthcare
be? Can healthcare truly be one or the other?
These questions keep coming up in my classes, and although I
have been pondering on them for some time, I cannot come to a clear conclusion.
Obviously, healthcare in some countries is more of a right than in other
countries and vice versa, but is healthcare ever truly a right OR a privilege? For
example, in the countries that offer universal care, almost everyone may be
able to receive care at low costs, but is it always the care they need, when
they need it? Or do the people get put onto waiting lists and receive the
minimal amount of care needed for the time being? If so, is this what is
considered a right? Even in countries that offer universal care, access to
healthcare may still be a huge problem. The healthcare may be available but if
the people cannot access it, then what good is it? If you can only use the
universal healthcare if you have access, then wouldn’t it be considered more of
a privilege?
In countries such as the United
States that do not offer universal healthcare, almost everyone can still get
care if they can get to an emergency room.
Granted this may not be the best care and may be expensive, but they can still receive care (although access
could still be a problem). So in a way,
could healthcare in this situation also be considered a right? Also in countries such as the U.S., if you
have insurance then you can receive excellent care, albeit expensive, whenever
and wherever you need it. So although this may seem like a privilege to many,
do Americans view it as a right to have the choice to purchase or not to
purchase healthcare and insurance?
In this way, I believe whether
healthcare is considered a right or privilege is influenced by cultural,
historical, social and even personal factors. A country may state that they offer universal
healthcare and that they believe healthcare is a right, which I believe to be a
wonderful goal, but will it ever be truly attainable? There will probably always
be a portion of the population for which healthcare is more of a privilege than
a right. And even in countries that have great universal healthcare, people can
still purchase supplemental health insurance which gives them a wider range of
options when it comes to healthcare. So within a system that healthcare is
viewed as a right, there are still people with healthcare privileges.
I guess what I am trying to get at
is that it seems no healthcare system is perfect and can treat everyone within the system
as complete equals. I think this is a great goal to work towards, and some
countries have come closer to achieving it than others, but there is still
progress to be made in all countries. I know there is a lot of debate
surrounding this issue occurring right now in the United States, and as long as
this issue is being discussed I believe there is hope for change.
I agree that this is a very difficult question to answer, and in many countries arguments can be formed for both sides. As you mentioned this question continues to pop up in all of our public health classes and for me it always boils down to poverty and design. Typically the trend is if you live in an area with high poverty you don’t not have a way to access healthcare, usually because you cannot afford it. It is illogical for poverty to ever become eradicated worldwide. This is why I believe it is so important that the healthcare systems should consider a mobility component that travels or reaches low poverty areas. If those who cannot get to the healthcare, perhaps it would be beneficial for healthcare to get to them. I understand that this doesn't solve the entire problem but hen entire question but maybe it will result in other ideas.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts, Lindsey! It is hard to draw a clear line between right and privilege in healthcare. What is human right to healthcare? I think it means as a human being, everyone has the right to get health care. By contrast, a privilege is granted by the authority of a group or the state. With regard to the question “is healthcare a right or a privilege”, I agree with you that it is determined by different contexts. It is true if people can not access to healthcare, the “right” does not make sense. Healthcare may be a privilege among a population that is granted by the social environment, the SES, and in part by the policy. On the other hand, healthcare for some populations is not accessible, affordable, and acceptable. How can they enjoy the “right” without “right” to approach healthcare? However, I think we should keep one thing in mind, that health is a human right that needs to be respected, no matter what. That may be one reason that we make efforts to reduce the health disparities across nations and populations.
ReplyDeleteIndeed great thoughts Lindsey. May be before we debate whether healthcare is a right or a privilege, we need to answer the question about who is responsible for providing healthcare: for-profit organizations or the government. This question is critical because if healthcare is sold by private for-profit organizations, it becomes a commodity like a car or a house. If healthcare is provided by the state, then it makes sense to talk about it as a right. If a private for-profit organization uses its resources to provide healthcare, who are we to tell them that it is a right and they have to to make it available to everyone?
ReplyDeleteI think every nation must accept that having health care is a human right and the government in any country should provide affordable health care system to its own people. Why? Because for families having health cares even a basic one is a piece of mind and to know that if they got sick there would be a place to refer to without any worrisome. In addition, dangerous or infectious diseases could be caught in early stages, which in one hand could have a financial impact on the family of the patient, and also if it is an infectious disease it could be prevented before it gets worse or spread. The early detection and prevention would also have a positive affect on the country’s spending budget, and if people of a country are healthy that country would start to grow.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent question and one that I have pondered for a while. My current observations on this topic is that health should not be a right. Let me explain. If a smoker who has smoked for 20+ years develops coronary artery disease from smoking and receives millions of dollars worth in care to get a coronary artery bypass graft, does that mean if he goes back to smoking a pack a day and needs another graft that he has the right to demand one? Does this not hurt him more than help him? Is there any incentive or impetus for him to quit smoking, live a healthier life, exercise, and eat healthier? Or do we perpetuate the problem by allowing him the right to continued health services and raising his children in a manner that would encourage similar behavior? I would suggest, rather, that the opportunity to pursue health is a right and that healthcare is a privilege. America already spends more than any other country in the world on healthcare with little to show for it. Are we paying for people to continue their unhealthy lifestyles or are we giving them unfettered access to preventative services that would encourage them and allow them to pursue health rather than consume it. Although there are many instances where this would seem draconian along the continuum of health conditions, my observation is not intended to be a blanket statement applicable to every person and circumstance but, rather, a viewpoint to temper and refine the view of healthcare and the implications that the term "rights" (as it is a powerful one) would have on healthcare and its utilization.
ReplyDeleteBy "continued health services" (about halfway through my post) I meant regarding further treatment for smoking induced coronary artery disease or similar outcomes. I do not intend to suggest that he should not receive health services but, rather, that he should receive greater access to preventative and lifestyle adjustment strategies (such as cessation programs and reduced cost gym membership) to overcome his illness and to seek and pursue greater health.
DeleteWould it be safe to say that the discussion of health as a privilege or right here in America has become a political battle instead of a human rights discussion and an issue of access and affordability?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you all think?