the realm of Asclepios: part 1b
...continued from previous entry...
While the ability to receive health care may not be considered an inalienable right, I submit that it is greatly beneficial to our nation as a whole to insure that every citizen has access to health care. Furthermore, I deem it beneficial to insure that said access is affordable. I have noticed a break down of the debate around this point. I emphasize that access should be affordable for good reason. When it is noted that every American should have access to health care, the discussion becomes disingenuous. Those critical or skeptical of HCR that reply that every American does indeed have access to health care. This is true. Any and every American can find a clinic in their area or a hospital emergency room. A hospital emergency room is required to provide care regardless of ability to pay. Every American does have access to health care. But this response is disingenuous because that is not really the point being raised. True access to health care requires affordability. This is why I emphasized at the beginning the difference between health care and health coverage. When proponents of HCR contend that every American should have affordable access to health care, they are really contending that every American should have affordable health coverage. " Why should they?" you might ask. "If they can't afford insurance, who says they should have affordable access health care? Why is it better?" It is better for several reasons:
*First: right now, the health care system and the US government already shoulder the cost of the uninsured who resort to using the ER as their doctor. While it may be argued that this cost is not crippling to the system, it's still there. In fact, one of the reasons hospital care and ER bills are so high is coverage of uninsured/uncovered ER visits (as well as insured people who are just lazy and use the ER, sidelining valuable resources, but that's a different post entirely.). You may not like it, but you're already paying for the health care of the uninsured in the most inefficient way possible: reactionary care.
*Second: with wealth comes responsibility. The book of Proverbs is filled with the idea that rulers and the wealthy have a responsibility to provide for the well being of the poor/less fortunate. This is a part of biblical justice that particularly applies to this nation. Let's face it: America is a wealthy nation. And the more that I have considered it, the more that I have come to feel that as a wealthy republic, we should seek to use said wealth justly. And if a responsible use of individual wealth is to help the poor and downtrodden, should a citizen-government do the same? Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing that everyone should get free Botox, but providing a system of health coverage that enables every citizen access to preventative and basic health care? Yes, I have come to feel that is an application of using our wealth in a just and responsible way. ***
*Third: which is a stronger, happier, more productive citizenry: a healthy one that faces no financial worries for basic care; or one with a significant segment worried about illness, bills for illness, or staying in a bad job merely for health coverage? In this day and age, health care is ubiquitous. Promoting some form of affordable coverage for basic health care is not like promoting the idea that every citizen should be able to attend Harvard. It is like insuring that every citizen has access to basic education. Preventative and basic care enable the citizens of this country to function at their best. Being able to afford preventative and basic care enable the citizens of this country to do so without fear, worry, or undue financial burden. Consider this: of the over 850,000 bankruptcies in 2007, 62% were due to health care bills. Granted, any number of those individuals/families may have had their credit mazed out before medical bills became the straw of camel-back destruction, but is it acceptable that health care bills should in any way influence, contribute to, or exacerbate the path to bankruptcy? Again, if someone is bankrupting themselves because they want to look like their favorite celebrity, that's got to be on their own shoulders, but that's not typically what we're talking about here. It is societally beneficial to remove latent worry about affording health care.
Like education, health care may not be considered an inalienable right. It is, however, beneficial to society. Particularly where preventative and basic care are concerned, utilizing our collective wealth to provide affordable coverage to the less fortunate raises the collective health standards of the nation. The mere fact that a thing is not an inalienable right should not preclude our willingness to provide it if it is deemed beneficial to our nation as a whole. I will elaborate on this a little more in my next post when I address the issue of designated responsibilities of government.
***Nota bene: some references to the treatment of the poor in Proverbs.
judging fairly brings an established throne
(and on in Deuteronomy)Isrealites commanded to bless the poor
showing favor to the needy honors God
(oh and one in Job) Job lists neglecting the poor as things offensive to God
don't mock or neglect the the poor.
Wisdom reaches out to the poor
This is just a selection of numerous passages that encourage provision for the poor. And that doesn't even count the words of Jesus regarding the poor.
Comments
Great, great start. I don't disagree with anything I've read so far. Your points are clear and very well-thought out. And using the education system in part 1a as an example for a publicly provided service helped strengthen your point even better.
Also, I appreciate the (very important) distinction between health care and health coverage.
Can I admit, I'm using your intelligence to help shape my view on HCR?
Posted by: Kass | February 15, 2010 09:23 PM
Go for it. I'll admit that I used the very diverse nerd power of Penny Arcade posters to help me shape mine. As well as a largely unrelated sermon on James chapter 1 that led me to thought of the responsibility of wealth.
Posted by: dramatic ren | February 15, 2010 09:32 PM