Debating the Right to Healthcare

Debating the Right to Healthcare

 The subject of the human right to healthcare is increasingly divisive across the globe, and especially in the United States. The guidelines of the World Health Organization (2017) suggest that access to the highest level of health is a fundamental right of every person. However, with the increasing costs of healthcare, many countries fail to observe this right. The results of a recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center reported that over 60% of US citizens perceive that it is the responsibility of the government to guarantee healthcare coverage to the country’s populace (Mull, 2019). Opponents to the right to healthcare opine that providing medical care to every individual regardless of their tax bracket is costly and imposes an unnecessary tax burden to the people.

I feel that every person should have the right to healthcare because all lives are equal. Besides,  it is ethically sound to ensure that all human beings can access health care services. Access to care ought not to be based on an individual’s economic status. The primary philosophical theories of justice, such as utilitarianism, liberal egalitarianism, and libertarianism, concur that society ought to provide for those who are financially disadvantaged (Christopher & Caruso, 2015). In this vein, no single individual should lose his or her life because of a lack of access to healthcare services, resulting from financial constraints. The right to healthcare is also vital in addressing healthcare inequities caused by the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

Moreover, I perceive that the right to healthcare is an essential tool towards the reduction of the financial burden of healthcare. The provision of primary care is linked with a decrease in the use of the emergency department, reduction in hospitalization, a decline in surgical procedures, and lower healthcare expenses (Glass, Kanter, Jacobsen, & Minardi, 2017). Many a time, individuals with no access to primary care services tend to delay seeking medical care for various illnesses. The delay results in an escalation of diseases, resulting in emergency department visits and inpatient admissions, which are costly. Often, such cases are avoidable if individuals can access primary care and preventative services.

From the responses, I perceive that response A is the most ethical since it supports the idea of providing a clear minimum of healthcare to every person. Besides, this response mentions the role of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the provision of healthcare coverage to ensure that the US populace has access to affordable healthcare. In particular, while the ACA does not guarantee access to care to every US citizen, it is a step forward toward the provision of healthcare services to a majority of the American populace. Before the passage of the law, an estimated 57 million US citizens were uninsured (Christopher & Caruso, 2015). However, the number of uninsured individuals in the US has significantly reduced following the enactment of the law. A total of between 9.3 and 16.4 million people have obtained healthcare insurance under the ACA (Christopher & Caruso, 2015). This development indicates that the law has significantly reduced the number of uninsured persons.

However, while the right to health care is desirable, there is the risk that a universal healthcare model will lower the quality of healthcare services. For instance, it is reported that in nations with universal healthcare, the outcomes of some treatment are worse than in the US (West Coast University, n.d.). Also, the five-year survival rate for all cases of cancer in the US is 64.6% in comparison to 51.6% in Europe (West Coast University, n.d.). It should be noted that a majority of European countries provide universal healthcare services to their citizens.

To sum it up, the right to health care is a fundamental aspect, which ought to be observed in every country. Access to care not only reduces the financial burden associated with expensive healthcare costs but also lowers healthcare inequities. As such, the right to healthcare is ethically sound to enhance desirable health outcomes.