Health Care- A Basic Human Right?

I have been processing different pros and cons of universal health care for quite a while. My gut reaction to any mention of this concept unfortunately is that it isn't fair. The wealthy end up paying for those who don't work to have the same access to care. I make the very stereotypical leap to believing the healthy end up paying for those who don't take care of their bodies- those who choose sedentary lifestyles, eat fast food regularly, do drugs.... In some instances this is true. Right now I am working at a county hospital (where those without insurance tend to go) and at least 3 of my 4 patients use illegal drugs regularly- mostly cocaine and methamphetamines. All 4 are there at least in part because they take no ownership over their health. Would they if they had better access to physicians and prescription medications? Maybe.

Is health care a fundamental human right? I think everyone should have access to primary care- routine checkups, immunizations... but where does it end? Nations with universal health care are much stricter on what care is offered to extremely premature babies and those near the end of life. Some have criteria and if a baby is born who doesn't meet their criteria they don't invest their country's money in sustaining that life. We do and as a result a huge portion of our nation's spending keeps severely premature babies and those with terminal illnesses alive much longer than other countries. If we don't like to view medicine as a business we haven't seen anything compared to what it would be like with universal health care.

I have heard about the drama with the system in Canada and how citizens have to wait for unacceptably long periods of time for needed tests and procedures. Time is essential in detecting cancers, setting broken bones.... I think most would agree that the Canadian system is far from ideal, but there are tons of other models of universal health care that are working- nearly every country in Europe has some government-sanctioned health care, and most are working quite well. They might pay huge taxes, but do they end up paying more in the long run when you consider everything is covered? How much do we pay on deductibles, copays, and fees that end up just padding the wallets of upper management of insurance companies and hospitals?

I met with a classmate recently and we ended up discussing these ideas for quite a while. She was quick to point out some fallacies in my thoughts. She had a hard time grasping that I, someone committed to providing health care for those lacking it overseas, would be opposed to the concept that all Americans should have access to health care. She reminded me that many of the 47 million who are uninsured in America are hard-working individuals who just can't afford insurance and their employers don't provide it. Given the choice of feeding their families or paying money for something they might not need, they make the obvious choice of food for their kids. I would too if I had to make that choice.

My friend also pointed out that because I choose to exercise a lot I might need knee replacements or other procedures. Is it fair that those who choose more moderate lifestyles fund my treatment because I have chosen a more aggressive exercise regimen? What about all the marathon and ultra-marathon runners? Ironman triathletes? Should we have to pay for all the health complications due to their obsessive lifestyles? Another great point.

The way our system is right now, we are the only industrialized nation that doesn't provide health care to everyone. Well, we do in emergency rooms because it is the law- but that is a very inefficient and ineffective way to treat patients. We spend more of our GDP on health care than any other nation and yet if you look at the numbers even our care for those who have access is really no better.

I don't really understand Hillary Clinton's plan because I can't seem to find any real in-depth information on it. I know she plans to fund it by ending the tax cuts on those whose income is over $250,000. Part of the funding will also come from the savings that will result from cutting out the middlemen in health care which I appreciate. Apparently 50% of our health care spendings as a nation goes towards paying middlemen. That is ridiculous. If you are interested in learning more about her plan and others that are working elsewhere click here.

Our current system is unsustainable. We need to act. To me it seems like a much larger crisis than global warming, but maybe I'm biased by what I see in the hospital coupled with an inch of freezing rain in early March.