| Mendicate Bias said: Health is a basic human right. As a society we have a duty to care for the sick, not to let them whither away and die. What harm did a child born with muscular dystrophy do that he doesn't deserve the same treatment as any other child. There are plenty of business's that the government should not touch, but basic human care should never be a for profit business. There is a reason why our healthcare system is the most expensive in the world but we lag far behind most countries when it comes to major health indicators. |
Saying that is fine and well, but there are economic realities that that approach doesn't take into account. It is an emotional argument, not a logical one. There comes a point when governments have to say "no" just like insurance companies do, and I think more and more developed countries will face that problem as their demographic situations continue to deteriorate. How it's better to have that done by a government bureaucrat for the sake of a nation's finances instead of an assessor for the sake of his company's finances, I'm not really sure.
Assume for the sake of argument that a truly free, for profit health care market (which we don't have, as the health care system is up to its nuts in government intervention) could provide better services to more people. Would that still be immoral because it's for profit? Or, because health care is a "right", should a country be willing to spend a limitless amount of money on any sick child even if it brings financial ruin on everyone (including many more children, sick and healthy alike) because it's our duty? Is it maybe better to arrange help for such people through other means than the government?
American life expectancies skew lower on average than Europeans', not because of our health care system, but for a host of other reasons: lifestyles, obesity, greater ethnic diversity, and so on. Americans were for a long time the heaviest smokers in the developed world, and removing smoking related deaths from the equation would move the US into the top half of developed countries for life expectancy. Now that Americans have stopped smoking at a faster rate than any other country, it is thought that the longevity gap might disappear altogether.
