As the United States congress is reaching decision time on Health Care legislation, many people are weighing the issue. Being less interested in the inner workings of the nation-state, i have not taken a huge interest in the issue. Yet I have been thinking about it from time to time, and I hesitantly admit that my viewpoint has been anything but static over the last few years. In a nutshell, I have shifted from the certainty that all Americans deserve health care coverage, to a much more, one might coin, conservative view, that health care should remain in almost it's entirety driven by the principles of free market enterprise, as long as that is the system in which America operates. I start off by exploring the relevance our health care system has to the question "what is a right?"
What is a right? Is there a right answer to such a question? I'll leave both answer up to you, and really, it's besides the point. Whats important is what rights are granted within a governing body to it's population. That leads me to the great question, should health care be a right? In a recent op in the wall street journal, John Mackey, the CEO and Founder of Whole Foods Market, pointed out "While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter?". One of the great benefits of a free market system is the allowance of individuals to prioritize their values in whichever way they choose. Why should health care be treated differently than any other value, like the food you buy, the shelter you live in, the car you drive etc..? You decided how important it is to you, and given your resources make a decision accordingly. Perhaps you will have to drive not as nice of a car, in favor of having your hip replaced. You might consider excersizing more as way of managing your diabetes. Decide to buy the whole grain pasta, even though it is twice the price, recognizing the known health benefits of complex carbohydrates. Or perhaps choosing to work for one employer over the other because they provide a more favorable health care benefits package for you and your family.
What about the rest of the world? My friend Samburaj and I , who lives in India, were discussing how the healthcare system works in India. One of the major components of India's own health care issues, is while there are a great wealth of Indian Doctors, many of them choose to work in economies were they receive significantly more compensation for their services. This is understandable, and free markets should allow one to work where he/she is best compensated for their efforts. Should we refuse Indian doctors from working in America, because they are needed to perform intrinsic human rights in the country they were raised and educated? The health care problem in India is rampant to say the least, I pulled a few facts from wikipedia:
42% of births are supervised by health officials
10% of the population has some form of health insurance
about 1 doctor for every 2000 people
So what do we do?
While preserving free market principles, there is certainly great benefit to having a healthy population. The government needs to regulate insurers in a way that guarantees any individual who is willing to pay, an affordable price for health insurance. Perhaps subsidies could help solve this problem. There is no reason why somebody who has the misfortune of being dealt a hand of bad health, should be refused health insurance at a fair price. I see this as no different than providing special education services to the mentally challenged or subsidizing those who employ them, or requiring an adequate number of handicap parking spaces exist in all parking lots, among many more possible examples of such compassion. Of course it will cost us some money and resources, but a great democracy should stand up for those who are misfortuned, and this is a great way to do so. For those who are unable to afford even the most basic health insurance, provide some level of subsidy so they can have basic coverage. Although the last point is a challenging one and will require at length debate and discussion.
To summarize the solution to solving the nations (and perhaps the planets health care challenge) is not to create some sort of nationalized health service that will essentially eliminate health care as we know it from our free market system. Besides the fact that there is no way to adequately provide the levels of coverage and quality service that most of us benefit from in this country, we would be dodging an opportunity to address the issue at its root. Lets improve health care in this country by making it an equal opportunity, well regulated business, just like anything else.
Whether or not you feel health care is a right, Health care is a value, and the health care system should operate on where its value stands in the minds of those it serves.
Just some food for thought :D
