Is healthcare a "right?"

I contend that if healthcare makes you happy, you have the right to your pursuit of happiness. Healthcare is not mentioned in the Bill of Rights, unlike your right to free speech or to bear arms. You have a right to speak, but government (taxpayers) are not required to build you a pulpit or provide a megaphone. You have a right to own a weapon, but the government is not required to buy you a weapon. How is healthcare different? You can buy it, but why should taxpayers provide it to you??

Lately the left has been saying healthcare is a "right" and by that, it means someone else should pay for yours through government taxation and inevitable rationing. That means government bureaucrats will decide the quality and quantity of healthcare you may consume.

Isn't that the exact moment that healthcare ceases to be a right?

 

Well spoken.

I know you'll get no cogent answers from our friends on the left, but I have to commend your ability to succinctly point out a problem they've ignored for decades now. They'll still ignore the argument, but... good job!

 

No, healthcare is not a right. But single payer healthcare systems (government run) are vastly more efficient, less expensive, and provide better care than our current system.

 

I believe healthcare paid for by the government should be a right and a scotus ruling could make it one.

But it is not currently a right

 

Then quick, run to your local government official and let them in on this deeply guarded secret that only you seem to know. I'm sure you'll be well received in the inner sanctum of city hall.

 

They already know, and so do you. You know perfectly well the US system is ranked 37th. Every first world nation with single file payer gets bette care and pays a fraction of what we do.

 

Hello, hello, the government doesn't pay for anything, taxpayers do. SCOTUS has no business 'making rights'. If you want a Constitutional Amendment, there's a process for that. I am SICK AND GD tired of legislating from the bench.

 

Dont care about semantics. Scotus or Congress can do this...either is fine by me

 

How much are you willing to pay for this 'right'? Or do you just want something for nothing?

 

No.

 

Oh I am sure I will.pay. I am well off so I will pay more and get little personal benefit

 

All true enough. But what also is true enough is we are paying for others healthcare one way or another. One way we pay for it is by helping to offset the costs incurred by hospitals for “free care”. And by “free care” I’m talking about those who don’t have health insurance and can’t afford to pay for emergent care they receive at ERs all over the country.
So no matter which system, there will always be those of us who pay for others. That’s a fact.

 

Which is why the border needs to be sealed shut and 30 million illegals deported.

 

Having a 'right' to the products and/or services of other humans outside of voluntary contractual agreements ended with slavery.

 

There are lots of different kinds of "rights". What kind are you referring to? Or would you rather me through it?

 

Not yet, but likely will be part of a general welfare. Perhaps in 10 yrs or so.

 

It is not a right under the Constitution. I do believe it should be affordable. And that health insurance companies should be regulated blije electric and phone companies and auto insurance.

It cannot be free. Please view how I think medicare for all can work. Posted under Medicare for all

 

Less than the premiums I pay now. Which is a strong possibility.

 

If one believes that legal rights are only legitimately created to protect the natural rights of individuals then healthcare is not a right. Natural rights are negative rights, but healthcare is a would be a positive right.

To me, it is immoral to force any action upon another person (the requirement of a positive right) in order to make possible oror uphold any legal right. It is tantamount to enslavement.

 

Really? How about "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence? How can a sick person, who suffers due to their treatable condition, enjoy their "right to life liberty, and their pursuit of happiness"? Their inability to obtain treatment prevents them from realizing their "right to life liberty, and their pursuit of happiness". Therefore, a "right to life liberty, and their pursuit of happiness" presupposes a right to healthcare.

Healthcare is, indeed, a moral right. And if Congress and the S.C. would act to make it a legal right, much of our fighting over healthcare would be ended.

 

You mean like Citizens United?

 

No, healthcare isn't a right. I don't believe that rights exist at all because there is no evidence for objective morality or for a God that provides these rights. I don't have a right to speak. If I threaten to kill the president, I should be detained, or if I say something inappropriate on someone's property or website, they can throw me out. I don't have a right to own a weapon. If I am a former violent felon, I shouldn't have a weapon and if I own a nuclear weapon, I can literally kill thousands of people.

I think we should move to a smart universal healthcare system that has public and private hospitals, and a public medicare for all program along with private insurance for anything beyond that. Other countries pay less for the public healthcare programs than we pay for Medicare and Medicaid alone, and we should emulate them to save dozens of trillions of dollars every decade. Maybe we should consider a system like Singapore. Healthcare now costs as much as the government, and its like a big tax except it fall mostly on the middle class.

 

I think folks should have the right to not be subjected to extortion - which is currently the state of our healthcare system.

 

Yes, Singapore has a good system. They found a way to inject market forces back into the industry and drive prices down through competition. So you can squander your healthcare dollars on acupuncture & massages, or save them for a disease. Your call, but don't call us if you deplete your account.

I agree that there is no "objective evidence" for God-given rights. They are simply an article of faith for people who consider themselves Americans. If you don't like them, find an alternative bed-rock on which to build your society. The Bill of Rights has deep roots that well predate Columbus.

 

You are not being extorted. Granted, government has limited your insurance choices and you can't buy Geico Health Insurance from some out of state company. And to convince you government cares about you, they force your employer to pay for half your insurance, pick the company you will use, and offer you $5000 less per year in salary. Thank you Uncle Sam!

But you have to ask yourself, why can you see 4 auto insurance ads in one intermission, and no health insurance ads? You have a choice for auto insurance. Not so much for health.