Is health care a right or a privilege?

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A privilege is defined as a special entitlement or immunity granted by a government to restrict a group by applications of specified terms and conditions. Health care as a privilege is an undisputed fact. The proof lies in the fact that there are limiting factors that pertain to the reception of health care in every society. In poor countries the health care is limited by the availability of health insurance for the citizens and the in availability of adequate drugs and health centers for treatment and diagnosis of the diseases. In places where there are health centers the limiting factors may lie in the lack of equipment fro carrying out various tasks like incubators for new born premature babies or life support machines for patients who require it.

In rich countries like Canada and the United States of America there is limitation in either price or time for administration of health care to individuals who require it.  In Canada the people who cannot afford to pay for the required health care have to wait in line, sometimes the patients wait for so long that they turn to the courts for support. The challenges have led the desperate well off citizens to travel far and wide to search for adequate health treatments that are readily available and ready to be administered to them.

A right is a noble act that earns the respect of others. It is an inherent or irrevocable entitlement held by human beings from birth (Suzanna, 1992).The violation of a right can lead to dire consequences for the offender. According to the bill of rights of America, rights involve: the right to life, the right of liberty, the right of property, and the right of pursuit of happiness. The similarity that these rights portray is the fact that they are not rewards from other people but rather they are rights to action. They bring out the idea that in order to attain a desired thing you must put in efforts that will lead to its acquisition. The things that belong to other people cannot be termed as yours in any case. You have to sweat to gain whatever you need (Leonard, 1993).

An example of the application of a right is the right to life; it does not necessarily mean that your neighbor should feed cloth and house you, what it means is that basically you have the audacity to venture into the world to acquire the basic needs and other issues that one requires. One of the richest countries should be able to provide health insurance cover for its citizens. Considering the fact that prisoners get health cover for free, they also have access to medicine and they can be seen by good doctors for no fee at all when they fall ill (Tammi, 2004).

Health care is a right, according to the definition provided the idea of one of the richest countries in the world, like the United States of America, having to pay for every citizen health insurance may be absurd but it is essential. Unless there is the increase in taxation, the American government cannot suffice to cater for the growing health need of its public. The increase in taxes is one of the consequences that can result if the nation decides to deal with expenses that are encountered during health administration.

There will be provision of private insurance for the wealthy who do not believe that the service offered by the government will satisfy them. The private health insurance cover will be more expensive. Victims of rising cost of insurance will be the group insurance whose cost of insurance will rise as the prizes for private insurance increase.

Another demerit of looking at health as a privilege is the idea that there will be a constant increase in the administration of health aids for the private sector than the government sector. The government health department will be associated with poor administration of treatment to the patients while the private sector ensures that the best of health aids and the best medicine is used on the patients with private health insurance.

Finally, it is appropriate that every individual should take personal responsibility for the cost of their own health. This is important because personal responsibility will lead to the responsibility of the society at large concerning health issues. Priorities should be the first step in being attaining responsibility. You may find that a person will buy a very expensive asset and will not have insurance cover for their health. Although this common sense, it might not be so common for every individual because people are not the same.

Some jobs may have better benefits than others and that leaves various individuals having varying priorities in their life. The reality comes down to the quality of health we receive. The quality should not be influenced by someone else rather we should be the victims of our own making. There are insufficient rich people in a country to cater for the finances of the health of the nation through taxation. This can be seen as a demerit of looking at health as a right.

The cost of prescription drugs is really alarming. It is so high that individuals have to work up to two or there jobs in order to meet the cost of health insurance. There are millions of Americans who do not have insurance and they opt to wait until they are in critical condition that is when they tend to go to the doctor because the cost of seeing a doctor when the ailment is not too bad may be too much. (Tammi, 2004).

Statistics show that there was an increase in the number of people without health insurance between 2000 and 2003. 5.2 million People were reported not to have health insurance out of which 307,000 Utahans were included. For this reason health care reforms in America were suggested.

Considering the importance of health care to nation, it is advisable that health care system put in pace should be able to meet the needs of the citizens of the country. Generally in civilized world the country should be able to be efficient in the health industry by ensuring adequate funds are set aside, and that the public is educated on their rights of health related status. Health care is therefore a right of every citizen and not a privilege. It is through a healthy nation that a country grows and develops.