Role of Government in US Healthcare Essay

What is a right? A right is a perceived entitlement based on legal, social and ethical principles that is owed people according to law, social convention, or ethics (Reisch & Weil, 2013). A privilege is a special advantage not enjoyed by everyone (Carel & Kidd, 2014). Based on the aforementioned definitions, health care is not a basic right in the United States but privilege.

Based on our current societal norms, health care is a commodity or a service that must be purchased, therefore having the ability to pay for healthcare is privilege. Because doctors can deny patients care based on insurance, further denies that health care is a right. Rights are accepted and undeniable entitlements afforded to all members of a society (Reisch & Weil, 2013). Role of Government in US Healthcare Essay

Even with the recent adoption of the Affordable Care Act, which attempts to provide the right to health care for all Americans, many citizens cannot burden the cost of health insurance (Arras, 2014). Therefore, access to care is afforded only to those who have the privilege of being able to pay the tribute (Carel & Kidd, 2014). Neither the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights guarantees healthcare; however, the government entitles health care to only the elderly, the young, and impoverished- thus alienating the rest of American society (Reisch & Weil, 2013). This stratification and separation of citizens’ access to entitlements creates a seemingly unjust and unfair society wherein the majorities who pay for health care through taxes do not have access to it (Barker & DeNisco, 2013).Role of Government in US Healthcare Essay

Health care is not a right in America because beneficence in not in the Constitution (Orentlicher, 2012). Health care as a given right is seemingly paternalistic and creates a dependency that runs counter to the American values of individualism, self-reliance and independence. But just because health care is not included in the founding documents does not make its omission morally correct (Orentlicher, 2012). The Constitution is not static but a fluid template to help guide and govern the nation (Orentlicher, 2012). Therefore, the Constitution can and must be amended to suit the needs of current society (Orentlicher, 2012). In this egalitarian society, privileges for segments of society are not ethical and right. Therefore, the guaranteed limited privilege for a limited portion of American society must be extended as a right for all to be an equal and just society.