healthcare.procon.orgRight to Health Care - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org

Right to Health Care - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org Skip to content More Issues About Us FAQs Teachers’ Corner $0.99 /Month Join Right to Health Care Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care? Last updated on: 2/14/2019 | Author: ProCon.org 28.5 million people in the United States (8.8% of the US population) do not have health insurance. Among people who do have health insurance, 67.2% have private insurance while 37.7% have government-provided coverage through programs such as Medicaid or Medicare. Employer-based health insurance is the most common type of coverage, applying to 56% of the US population. The United States is the only nation among the 36 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations that does not have universal health care either in practice or by constitutional right. Proponents of the right to health care say that no one in one of the richest nations on earth should go without health care. They argue that a right to health care would stop medical bankruptcies, improve public health, reduce overall health care spending, help small businesses, and that health care should be an essential government service. Opponents argue that a right to health care amounts to socialism and that it should be an individual’s responsibility, not the government’s role, to secure health care. They say that government provision of health care would decrease the quality and availability of health care, and would lead to larger government debt and deficits. Read more background… Pro & Con Arguments Pro 1 The founding documents of the United States provide support for a right to health care. The Declaration of Independence states that all men have "unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," [ 42 ] which necessarily entails having the health care needed to preserve life and pursue happiness. The purpose of the US Constitution, as stated in the Preamble, is to "promote the general welfare" of the people. [ 43 ] According to former Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), as part of efforts to "promote the general welfare," health care "is a legitimate function of government." [ 44 ] Read More Pro 2 Instituting a right to health care could lower the cost of health care in the United States. According to a study from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, under a single-payer system, in which all citizens are guaranteed a right to health care, total public and private health care spending could be lowered by up to $1.8 trillion over the next 10 years due to lowered administrative and prescription drug costs. [ 51 ] The American Medical Association reports that private health insurance plans spend 11.7% of premiums on administrative costs vs. 6.3% spent by public health programs. [ 52 ] According to data by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Canada and the United Kingdom, two countries that provide universal health coverage, spend 47% and 42% of what the United States did per capita in 2017. South Korea, also with universal coverage, spent just 28%. [ 129 ] Read More Pro 3 A right to health care could save lives. According to a study from Harvard researchers, "lack of health insurance is associated with as many as 44,789 deaths per year," which translates into a 40% increased risk of death among the uninsured. [ 59 ] Another study found that more than 13,000 deaths occur each year just in the 55-64 year old age group due to lack of health insurance coverage. [ 60 ] A Commonwealth Fund study found that due to a lack of timely and effective health care, the United States ranked at the bottom of a list of 16 rich nations in terms of preventable mortality [ 109 ] and a further study published in the Lancet ranked the United States 29 out of 195 countries and territories in terms of preventable mortality. [ 122 ] In Italy, Spain, France, Australia, Israel, and Norway, all countries with a right to health care, people live up to five years longer than people in the United States. [ 121 ] Read More Pro 4 The right to health care is an internationally recognized human right. On Dec. 10, 1948 the United States and 47 other nations signed the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document stated that "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of oneself and one's family, including... medical care." [ 49 ] In 2005 the United States and the other member states of the World Health Organization signed World Health Assembly resolution 58.33, which stated that everyone should have access to health care services and should not suffer financial hardship when obtaining these services. [ 16 ] According to a peer-reviewed study in the Lancet , "[r]ight-to-health features are not just good management, justice, or humanitarianism, they are obligations under human-rights law." [ 50 ] The United States is the only OECD nation which does not have universal health care either in practice or by constitutional right. [ 119 ] [ 123 ] According to the Comparative Constitutions Project, as of 2019, over 130 countries have a right to health care in their national constitutions. [ 123 ] Read More Pro 5 A right to health care could make medical services affordable for everyone. According to a Gallup Poll, paying for health care is the biggest financial problem for US households. [ 124 ] A 2018 survey published by Becker's Healthcare found that 22% of Americans found paying their deductible was "very difficult" or "impossible" and 64% reported that they delayed or did not seek medical care due to cost. [ 126 ] The cost of US family health insurance premiums increased 80% in the United States between 2003 and 2013. [ 96 ] The cost of health insurance premiums for people who do not get coverage through work increased 105% between 2013 and 2017. [ 125 ] Read More Pro 6 Providing all citizens the right to health care is good for economic productivity. When people have access to health care, they live healthier lives and miss work less, allowing them to contribute more to the economy. A study by researchers at the Universities of Colorado and Pennsylvania showed that workers with health insurance miss an average of 4.7 fewer work days than employees without health insurance. [ 55 ] According to an Institute of Medicine report, the US economy loses $65-$130 billion annually as a result of diminished worker productivity, due to poor health and premature deaths, among the uninsured. [ 105 ] In a speech, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim stated that all nations should provide a right to health care "to help foster economic growth." [ 56 ] Read More Pro 7 A right to health care could improve public health. According to a study in the Lancet that looked at data from over 100 countries, "evidence suggests that broader health coverage generally leads to better access to necessary care and improved population health, particularly for poor people." [ 99 ] In the United States, people are 33% less likely to have a regular doctor, 25% more likely to have unmet health needs, and over 50% more likely to not obtain needed medicines compared to their Canadian counterparts who have a universal right to healthcare. [ 63 ] According to a 2008 peer-reviewed study in the Annals of Internal Medicine , there were 11.4 million uninsured working-age Americans with chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and their lack of insurance was associated with less access to care, early disability, and even death. [ 65 ] Read More Pro 8 Because the United States is a very wealthy country, it should provide health care for all its citizens. Many European countries with a universal right to health care, such as France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, have a lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita than the United States, [ 127 ] yet they provide a right to health care for all their citizens. As of 2017, 28.5 million people (...