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Introduction
The United States of America is the world’s major armed and economic power. However, the country’s health care delivery system is not managed under administrative control. In simple words, no governmental department or department is responsible for providing health care facilities to the citizens in United States of America. Moreover, it does not even propose any national health care program like many other developed countries. Therefore, Americans do not enjoy the accessibility to a distinct health care facilities’ set. Instead, the United States government offers a private health care funding and deliverance system (Shi & Singh). For this reason, the issue of provision of health care facilities by the government has emerged as a hot topic in the recent years. According to health care rights’ proponents, it is not acceptable of the world’s richest nation to deprive its citizens of health care facilities. Their argument is based on the notion that granting of health care rights would naturally put a stop on medical bankruptcies. They also argue that provision of heath care would result in the improvement of public health and the reduction of total expenditure on health care. Moreover, it can also facilitate the flourishing and growth of small businesses. In short, health care provision is considered by its advocates to be an indispensable government service (Korobkin). According to the supporters of health care rights, a proper government-controlled system for healthcare provision is essential. This is because the present system is a fragmented one. It does not have proper services, features, and levels. A system that provides different services through different means to different people cannot perform effectively. In simple words, the provision of health care to all citizens is the responsibility of the government as the present system is not equality-based. Moreover, the non-standardization of health care system in America has caused functional fragmentation. Such factors have deteriorated the overall healthcare system as there are no comprehensive planners and managers from the government (Shi & Singh).
They also believe in a government-based healthcare system as it could reduce the health care cost in the country. Moreover, health care rights to citizens could save many lives. This is extremely important as the lack of well-timed and efficient health care in the United States has placed it among the sixteen richest countries in the world that could prevent mortality rates.
It can be proved by the fact that countries that have given right to health care to its people have higher life expectancy as compared to United States. Those countries include Australia, France, Italy, Israel, Norway, and Spain. It is also asserted that the mentioned right is a human right that is recognized internationally. In addition, if the government provides health care facilities to all, this step could make it easy for every citizen to afford medical services. It is important to mention that one of the major problems faced by households in United States is paying for health facilities.
The government is also expected to be responsible for health care provision for all as it can bring benefits to economic productivity. It is a fact that health care is accessible to people, they live with sound health. Such accessibility makes them miss less work and allows them to act as economic contributors. Therefore, government is considered liable to provide health care for facilitating economic growth.
On the other hand, the opponents of the issue present their argument that health care rights add up to socialism in the society. They believe that it is the responsibility of an individual to secure his health. According to them, the government is not responsible for providing health care to each and every citizen of the country. Their argument is based on the consideration that the provision of health care by the government would automatically result in the decrease of health care quality. They also assume that such provisions would also reduce the availability of health care to all the citizens. In addition, they believe that such health care rights may become the cause of increased debt and deficits for the United States government.
People who do not support the right to health care believe so as such rights have the propensity of increasing the wait time for health care requirements. It is a fact that Countries where health care is granted to citizens as a universal right have longer times for waiting as compared to the United States of America. Similarly, the opposition to government-funded health care is based on the notion that this right can increase the shortage of doctors in the country.
The patient influx may cause a shortfall of required doctors ultimately failing the entire health care system. In the similar manner, the idea of health care provision as a right could cause overusing of health care resources by people. The provision of universal health care may make people exploit the health resources in unnecessary ways. As mentioned, it is believed by many Americans that it is not the government that must be responsible for paying for medical services to every citizen. Health care must not be considered a right. It is a service that should be paid by the individual himself (Korobkin).
Conclusion
As far as my opinion is concerned, I believe that health care must be considered a service. It must not be seen as a right. It needs to be realized that a need and a right are two extremely different concepts. Health care is a fundamental human need and every citizen must be free in pursuing it. It also means that the government does not enjoy the right of infringing peoples’ right to attain health care. In other words, the government does not owe people any health care provision. This is because health care is also a commodity such as clothing, food, and shelter (Barlow 321).
Health care right would surely reduce the overall quality of health care that is already not perfect in the country. I also believe that the inefficiency of government agencies must be considered while voicing opinions in favor of health care rights. Bureaucracy has made governmental system a hollow one. Therefore, expecting the government to provide for health care is too much to ask considering the fact that it cannot function with fairness and equality (Hardman & Drew 145).
It must also be kept in mind that a number of countries that have made universal health care available to their citizens are still suffering disparities in their health systems. They have not been able to eliminate a lot of diseases that have been eliminated in the United States. It is also important to state that “healthy people who take care of themselves have to pay for the burden of those who smoke, are obese, and so on” (Hardman & Drew 145). All in all, I believe that the government must not be made responsible to pay for the health care for every citizen.
Works Cited
Barlow, P. "Health Care Is Not a Human Right." BMJ (1999): 321. Print.
Hardman, Michael L., and Clifford J. Drew.Human Exceptionality: School, Community, and Family. 10th ed. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Korobkin, Russell. "Health-Care Costs and the 'Moral Hazard' Problem." The Washington Post 10 Mar. 2014. Print.
Shi, Leiyu, and Douglas A. Singh.Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach. 3rd ed. Boston: Jones and Bartlett, 2004. Print.
