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As the world continues to evolve and more diseases emerge from the continuous changes in weather, population, and environment, healthcare access has never been a more relevant issue. While there are countries that generously provide this to their citizens at no cost, many other nations are not as fortunate.
Is healthcare a right or a privilege? The author of this essay defense her stance, which is that it is more a right and not a privilege.
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Why Universal Health Care is a Right and Not a Privilege
Healthcare services are a hot topic these days, particularly among nations where poor health is rampant and there isn’t good access to medical services. The moment the medical bills start coming in, patients get anxious from wondering how they’re going to pay for everything. At the very least, families that are wealthier are able to afford healthcare from the private sector in the form of private insurance.
In more fortunate areas, people don’t even think about health care coverage because the government covers it for them. They are the happy beneficiaries of a national health program where they receive equal access to free healthcare, no matter the disease or the emergency.
As such, the debate continues: Are medical services a basic right, or is it just a privilege? I believe that every citizen should be a recipient of universal healthcare. As such, it is my conviction that proper health care is a right, not a privilege.
Universal Health Care and the United States Healthcare System
One would think that the citizens of the United States, one of the world’s most influential nations, all enjoy quality health care without putting them in financial hardship. Thanks to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, this is now possible. His advocacy for health care reform has enabled plenty of American citizens to enjoy health insurance at more affordable rates. He was a staunch believer that the right to health care is a human right.
The United Nations defines universal health care as the ability of individuals and communities to enjoy free-flowing access to medical care, whether in the form of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, or even palliative treatment. This is based on the premise that being in an optimal state of wellbeing is a basic human right and it is the responsibility of the government to maintain this reality. It is important to note that the right to health is different from the right to be healthy. According to the United Nations, the former refers to the ability to achieve the highest state of wellbeing possible in one’s local context and culture.
Today, we American citizens can enjoy affordable health care. We no longer have to witness families in the hospital room arguing about how to settle the overwhelming costs of hospitalization, which are draining their financial resources. They can now enjoy the benefits of good health with good health coverage for themselves and their families.
Unexpected Medical Crises Turn Right Into Privilege
While I think that medical care is a right that should be affordable to all, there are certain situations that create a distance between this narrative and reality. Global medical crises such as pandemics bring out the flaws in every country’s health care system, exposing the gaps and the unspoken truth that national healthcare has become more of a privilege.
When the Covid crisis hit the world on a massive scale, health care providers scrambled to adjust their policies and coverages. In the beginning, they were more lenient and added generous clauses to existing contracts for Covid. However, as the pandemic raged on, it became clear that the pandemic wasn’t going to end anytime soon. As such, they retained Covid coverage on a minimal scale, knowing that this was a benefit most of their clients would avail of as they would inevitably acquire the virus. Many patients have complained that their insurance barely covers a fraction of the enormous cost of Covid hospitalization.
The scenario is much worse for people who don’t have basic health insurance. If they were unfortunate enough to contract a severe strain of the virus, they would be rendered helpless against a mounting hospital bill that would balloon to at least twice as much as it would cost to get hospitalized for a known virus. Many of them go home physically cured of Covid, but an emotional wreck from wondering how they’re going to pay off hospital debt.
Why Health Insurance Should Be for Everyone
I believe that enjoying an optimal state of wellbeing should be viewed as a fundamental human right, regardless of background, ethnicity, even genetic history. Every government should make it a point to prioritize healthcare reform in their government spending and advocate for equal opportunity to access adequate medical care. Pharmaceutical companies should also step in and work with the government or other private insurance companies to make certain medications more affordable and accessible.
Conclusion
If people have to starve or be in debt just to get treated in the hospital, there is something fundamentally wrong with the current system of that country’s medical care. If certain populations have to demand care and attention from their government and question how other people are able to pay for nothing for a treatment they had to work multiple jobs to afford, then we have made health care a privilege for a chosen few.
I hope that every government from nations with poor systems can open its eyes to the inequality that is transpiring and work hard to provide access to more affordable health care costs if they can’t provide it for free. Patient protection should be at the heart and core of why we advocate for human health, and if our medical system can’t live up to our credo, then we are being hypocritical. May excellent national healthcare emerge in every country of the world.
FAQs on Is Healthcare a Right or a Privilege
Is Healthcare A Natural Right?
While being healthy is a natural and fundamental human right, the right to health care isn’t. Not every government prioritizes the general welfare of its people in its spending and budget allocation. In the United States, American citizens are able to enjoy cheaper health care insurance, thanks to Obamacare. President Obama championed the right to access quality yet affordable medical treatment, which changed the face of the current system. However, in many other parts of the world, there is no Affordable Care Act to benefit from. Most patients are left to their own devices.
Why Do People Think Healthcare Is Not A Human Right?
There is a perception that having insurance or equal access to good medical services is more of a privilege. This is because private insurance can be ridiculously expensive, alienating the poorer population, which probably needs it more. At the same time, the health care industry continues to present countless flaws and gaps in its system, frustrating even insurance holders. Accessing privileges that are covered by the provider is oftentimes difficult, frustrating, and anxiety-inducing. Given this, the concept of universal healthcare seems more like a dream or an unproven theory in countries where the healthcare system fails to protect and provide for citizens. We wish this wasn’t the case, but unfortunately, this is very much a reality in less fortunate countries where only an elite part of society can truly enjoy seamless and worry-free medical services from their providers or governments.