Health Care: Right or Privilege?

This is one of those eternal questions in the world of medicine. Even among physicians and health care providers, the field is split fairly evenly, just like in the general population. Conservatives generally consider it a privilege, while Liberals consider it a right. But what do those terms mean in this context?

A "right" is a just claim, whether legal, prescriptive or moral. Obviously, there are no legal or prescriptive rights to health care. So the question here is whether there is a MORAL right to health care. Historically, the answer has clearly been no. In fact, in the history of mankind, it has not been until the 20th century when such a question even existed. Prior to that time, medical care has always been like any other service provided: if you wanted it, you had to pay for it. But if we guarantee our citizens the rights to "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," should health care be implicitly included there? After all, don't you need health care to LIVE? Or do you? There are some people who live very full, long lives and never see a doctor. In fact, some sects of Christianity in the US actually FORBID medical care. Does that mean those people don't live? Of course not. Furthermore, if we consider health care a basic RIGHT, given to all citizens by the government, then shouldn't food be a basic right? And a home? And clothing? And cable TV? Yes, I just said that. After all, how can you "pursue happiness" without having at least 100 channels of entertainment going into the home 24 hours per day?

So, clearly, my question is, "Where do we draw the line?" Why are my services, or the services of other physicians, so worthless that the public should not have to pay a single dime for them? But it's okay to charge people $200 to see the Detroit Pistons play basketball? Or $10 to see a movie? Or $100 per month for cable TV? Why are the services of professional athletes or movie stars placed at a higher monetary value than medical care? Why can all other professions in the country charge "market value" for their services, but physicians should be subject to government price controls?

Frankly, I find it insulting that people now believe health care is a basic right. What does that really mean? It's so important, so valuable, that you shouldn't even have to pay for it? If the government takes over health care, in order the minimize costs, the government will determine the fair price for all services. The problem is, the "fair price" is not what the doctors consider fair, but rather the politicians. This is really no different than in the old Soviet Union how the government determined the "fair price" for bread. Of course, this led to lines around the block for people to buy it.

If the Obama administration wants to mess with basic supply and demand, they are going to get a lot more trouble than they're bargaining for. And if the American public is so stupid that they don't understand the connection here, then they frankly deserve what they get.