Health Care, Right or Privilege?
Monday, August 24, 2009 at 7:01PM
With all the latest controversy, anger, misinformation, poor questioning, poor answering the idea of health care has broken down and off the rails through the debates, Television journalism, the Internet and of course town halls. Currently we know that there is currently multiple bills being formed only by congress, the legislative branch over the issue of health care. There are no death panels as claimed and withdrawn by Sarah Palin over Facebook. Betsy McCaughey takes one of the health care bills writing out of context as seen on The Daily Show which the extended interview is posted on The Daily Show's website. With all this damage how can health care get back on track to enable a thoughtful discussion and can relate to individuals? While there are multiple ways to answer this question the first thing the American citizen needs to ask themselves if health care should become a right.
To start off let us understand the difference between rights and privileges because the word right has been thrown around so much that individuals truly do not know their rights and legislation that supports their rights. A privilege as defined by Merriam-Webster as a noun states, “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor ; especially : such a right or immunity attached specifically to a position or an office”(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privilege) Privileges are considered benefits to being part of society, or organization. An example of a privilege would be a farmer creating a personal barn for a horse while the rest of the horses have to share a single barn. The farmer doesn't have to create a personal barn for that one horse so the prize horse is getting a privilege. A right as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as the word right is written as a noun under section 2a. “2 : something to which one has a just claim: as a : the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled <voting rights> <his right to decide>” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/right). Some examples of American rights can be seen in the Bill of Rights, the two most famous being the right to free speech and the right to bear arms.
However the Bill of Rights has gone under some major changes over the years and has been amended to add on new rights. So far as a nation there have been seventeen additional amendments to the original ten. These amendments have created new rights for Americans that previously did not exist, for example the fifteenth amendment.
Section 1.The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude--Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation (http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html)
The right to vote has been expanded and many new rights in our country have been created thanks to all three branches of government. The most powerful ability the United States government has is that legislation can be created, removed, and most importantly adjusted. No law in our federal or state governments are set in stone, people have the ability to create and advocate for new laws or the adjustment or removal of existing laws. What does all this explanation and definition of rights and privileges mean for the great health care debate of our time?
It is this question that will fix and bring health care back on track and create a foundation in where the discussion of health care can be analyzed. This should be the starting point to argue for or against health care reform because this question requires explanation and goes past any of the current hot topic statements being shouted by the crowds be it death panels, Nazi comparisons, a changing and cost of health care reform. Right now health care needs this question answered first because the United States, corporations and it's people treat health care as both a right and a privilege.
Health care is currently treated as a privilege in the United States, the benefit of having access to a doctor, dentist, optometrist and other health care physicians are only accessible to those who are employed. However employees with preexisting conditions could prevent an employee from having access to the health care that employee is paying. Health care through companies can limit, restrict or increase costs from the consumer and can limit the amount of coverage. If the consumer cannot afford the cost of treatment then health care is denied.
On the other side health care in the United States is also treated as a right. This is an common situation that affects those people who go to the emergency room because the people do not have health insurance or is not covered by their health care provider. Doctors cannot refuse treatment of those who are critically ill or injured regardless of the individual. During a crisis people aid those who are in poor health and would be considered inhumane to let another person suffer and not try to get medical treatment.
The United States has had to make some tough choices in our history that would change the United States. The founders of our nation made the tough choice to start a revolution and gain their independence. Our nation became divided in a civil war where slavery or servitude could no longer exist. Our nation would no longer deny a citizen's right to vote on the account of their color or creed. The Women's Suffrage movement convinced our nation to enable women the right to vote. Brave teenagers who fought and died protecting the United States and the world from tyranny were now able to vote at the age of eighteen.
Now is the time for the United States to make another tough choice. Does our nation believe health care is a privilege where only those who can afford treatment get treatment or does our nation believe that health care is a right where every man, woman and child regardless of color, creed, or age should be able to receive treatment?
