Is Access to Health Care A “Right”?

On April 26, 2007, US Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The text of McCollum’s proposed amendment simply states:

“Health care, including care to prevent and treat illness, is the right of all citizens of the United States and necessary to ensure the strength of the Nation.”

The late Joseph Cardinal Bernadin, Archbishop of Chicago, spoke and wrote eloquently about the the moral imperative of universal access to health care:

“Health care is an essential safeguard of human life and dignity, and there is an obligation for society to ensure that every person be able to realize this right.  The only way this obligation can be effectively met by society is for our nation to make universal health care coverage a reality“

An excellent essay by Ron Hamel, PhD, on Cardinal Bernadin’s perspective is in the May – June 2007 issue of Health Progress published by the Cathloic Health Assocation.

At the same time others, even some sympathetic to improving access to care, question the use of “rights” as a framework for action.  In a recent post on the blog DB’s Medical Rants Dr Tom Huddle discusses why he believes access to health care is a moral issue, but not a basic human right.

 

U.S. health care expensive, inefficient. America ranks last among six countries on key measures

Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the United States consistently underperforms on most dimensions of performance, relative to other countries. This report—an update to two earlier editions—includes data from surveys of patients, as well as information from primary care physicians about their medical practices and views of their countries’ health systems. Compared with five other nations—Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom—the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives. The U.S. is the only country in the study without universal health insurance coverage, partly accounting for its poor performance on access, equity, and health outcomes. The inclusion of physician survey data also shows the U.S. lagging in adoption of information technology and use of nurses to improve care coordination for the chronically ill.

Report issued May 15, 2007 by the Commwealth Fund

Please see Our Health Care Crisis page for additional information

 

Businesses Support Univeral Coverage

Large Business Coalition Endorses Mandate to Cover All Americans

May 7, 2007

A coalition of 36 large companies is launching a political campaign that calls for covering all Americans with a health care plan similar to that proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.), the Los Angeles Times reports. Schwarzenegger’s plan would mandate that all individuals get health insurance, hospitals and physicians subsidize coverage for the poor, and businesses spend a certain amount on employee health care. 

 

The Test of Our Progress

   

 ”The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

          - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt  Jan 20, 1937

How do these words speak to us today?

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial – messages for today

On March 30 we had a chance to enjoy a beautiful Spring day and the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC.  One of our favorite places is the FDR Memorial, just a short walk from the Jefferson Memorial. 

The Memorial is laid out in four “rooms” – each reflecting one of Roosevelt’s terms as President.  Sculptures capture key themes of these profoundly challenging times.  Many of Roosevelt’s words of wisdom are captured in stone.   So many of these rang true to me some 65 – 70 years later as I ponder our issues today.