Health Care is a Right and Not a Privilege

       Health Care is a human right and not just a privilege reserved for those who can afford it. In a democracy every citizen and resident deserves the right to adequate health care services regardless of income or social status. However, in the United States there are over fifty million Americans without health care or with inadequate health care coverage. In the wealthiest and most democratic nation in the world this is shameful. Our founding fathers clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence that all people have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They did not say it was reserved only for those who could afford it or were born into privilege and wealth. In the land of the free and the home of the brave, we are neither free enough to provide equally for our citizens all of the democratic rights they deserve, nor are we brave enough to confront those lobbyists or interest groups that support a system of profit over the rights of the people. Domination in any form, whether it is by the wealthy or the most powerful of the business lobbies at the expense of the people, is nothing more than totalitarianism, like the aristocracy of King George and the Monarchy that ignited the fire for the American Revolution. Yet, these lobbies that seem to control our politicians also have prevented any adequate system of providing health care equally to all of the people.   

       Universal Health Care has been accepted as a right and implemented successfully by other democratic nations in both Europe and Asia. However, in the U.S. Congress today we are still arguing about one compromised plan or another with little real commitment to a meaningful plan for everyone. One proposed plan seems to be leaning toward setting up one system for the poor and one for the rich. Another seems to lean toward mandating coverage while not providing enough for the payment of premiums for those who cannot afford it. And, still other plans propose doing almost nothing to change a system that is replete with waste and out of control costs and is self-destructing in the process. It is difficult to understand how the representatives of Congress, who have all of their health care provided for by the government, can vote to keep these same benefits or even adequate coverage from every American family. It is time for Congress to act and to move in a very significant way to provide health care benefits for all Americans, and to do so equally with premiums based upon an income scale. As a human and democratic right and not a privilege, this effort is long over due and the world is watching. No one should be denied health care coverage for any reason.

       And, if our members of Congress are wondering how much coverage is adequate they only have to look at their own health plan and make it available equally to all Americans. Also, if they are wondering how to pay for it, a fair scale of premiums based upon income would take care of much of the cost while the savings based on new government controls of waste and spending in Health Care would pay for a significant amount of the rest of the cost. I am sure that Labron James or Bill Gates would not mind paying more and picking up some of the slack for those who cannot pay and would otherwise do without. Wealth is a privilege; not a right and it is a privilege that must be shared especially in a democracy that has an obligation to provide certain rights for its citizens equally. There are many hard working Americans who cannot afford health insurance and with twenty percent of the wealth now controlled by three percent of the wealthiest of Americans, it is time for a change. Instead of taking money and jobs from the hard working middle class, it is time to give some of it back in the form of higher paying middle class jobs and universal health care for everyone.

Copyright 2009, Global Leadership Resources: For teaching or classroom use only.

                                                                                    Discussion Questions

  1. Why is health care a human right and not a privilege? How did our founding fathers support this idea in the Declaration of Independence?
  2. What has prevented the U.S. Congress from providing Universal Health Care to all Americans? What can be done to change this situation?
  3. What guidelines can Congress use to provide adequate coverage for everyone in a Universal Plan? Discuss ways that Congress can pay for it?
  4. Why are the costs of health care skyrocketing and how can the cost, inefficiency and waste in health care be controlled?
  5. Why is a separate plan for the rich and another one for the poor a bad idea?
  6. Why is equality for health care important in a democracy?
  7. What responsibilities do the wealthy and the privileged have in a democracy?

      

 

        


 

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