Is Health Care a right or a privilege?
by Representative Christine Johnson
Recently, I sat in a Health and Human Services Committee Meeting during an interim day at the legislature. As a member of this committee, I am always intrigued by the presentations and presenters that come and speak to us in favor of or in opposition to legislation and policy that comes before us as legislators in the Utah House of Representatives.
One agenda item for our meeting was a presentation of the federal health care reform proposals that are currently before congress, and our discussion was to focus on how the proposed legislation might affect our health care reform efforts in Utah. While I’m not sure that the debate which ensued was entirely germane to the topic, what resulted was an interesting question which I have spent the last several weeks pondering.
Is health care a right or a privilege?
Fundamentally, I believe access to basic and quality health care is a right. I believe that if a person is sick, and technologies are available to help that person become healthy again, then that person does have a right to access those technologies. The problem that keeps most of us back is the cost involved.
Some would argue that access to basic and quality health care is not a right… at least not a right that should be guaranteed by a government to its citizens, such as the right to life, or liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, or even the right to bear arms. Is access to quality health care a privilege, then? If I am lucky enough or wealthy enough or have a better job than someone else that provides me with good health insurance, does that mean it is my privilege to be healthy?
Its important to note that health insurance is not just about seeing a doctor when you are sick. It’s about prevention as well. Those who have health insurance more than likely have a relationship with a doctor who is aware of each person’s individual health history. Those who have health insurance most likely have better access to preventive care so that chronic disease can be prevented in the first place. When a person does not have health care coverage, minor illnesses can turn into major ones. Small incidents can turn into chronic conditions. Once this happens, it becomes almost impossible to afford quality health insurance without restrictions on benefits.
The number of people without health insurance has increased steadily since 2000, now totaling about 47 million Americans. While most Americans obtain health insurance coverage through their employers, with the cost of health insurance outpacing inflation and wage increases, more employers are opting out of the market. Family incomes have not kept pace with health care inflation making non-group coverage unaffordable for most low-income families. Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program help to fill in the coverage gap for millions, especially children. As a result, Medicaid and sky rocketing uncompensated care costs are straining state and federal budgets.
So access to health care is only a problem if you cannot afford it. And, today, many Utahns cannot.
If access to health care is deemed a fundamental right, then government must be obliged to guarantee that access to every citizen. Medical treatment would have to be available on an equal basis to anyone seeking it, regardless of age or physical condition or ability to pay.
If access to health care is not a fundamental right, then how do you solve the problem? Who pays for the individuals who still cannot afford it, even after we pass laws and provide portals and level the playing field, making affordable health care available to most Americans?
America, and Utah, has a long history of providing “Charity Care” to individuals in the most dire of circumstances. Charity Care is generally for people who do not have other financial resources available, such as insurance, government programs, or regular income.
I applaud and support all efforts to change and improve and reform the health care system in our state and our nation. But mostly, I believe that we need to look to each other and government to level the playing field. Access to good, quality, and affordable health care is a right, not a privilege.
Hard questions still remain. If it is indeed a right, then how are we going to pay for it? And, the converse must also be asked. How are we going to pay for not reforming the present system? As a an elected member of the Utah legislature, I believe our government needs to work toward a health care plan that is not just a privilege of those who can afford it, but is clearly a fundamental right of all U.S. citizens simply because of their human existence.
