Healthcare cannot be a right
One of the favorite one-liners from the democrats and liberals is “Healthcare is a right!” I’m sorry but it inherently cannot be a right.
For something to be a right, it must be free and cost nothing to have. For example, the right to free speech costs nothing to exercise. Well, actually, there are form you fill out and probably a permit fee but the actual cost is very minimal and usually covers administrative costs. The right to face your accuser does not cost you, the state, or even the accuser anything except time.
I could go on and on but these two examples will suffice.
To say that healthcare is a right is like saying having a TV is a right. The government doesn’t buy everyone a TV simply because they have the right to a free press. Healthcare not only costs money but requires people with specific skills. These skills are learned over several years. That education is not free.
The best and brightest doctors go to the most prestigious hospitals because they are willing to pay a premium for their knowledge. Most of these hospitals will take lower-income patients on a case-by-case basis, usually factoring patient income along with total cost of care.
The list goes on and on. The problem with healthcare as a right is who pays for it. If we assume that healthcare is paid by taxes, what happens when taxes run out? All the sudden, something that is a right can no longer be provided.
Right of the press, the right to free speech, the right to not have your property searched…these don’t cost anything. These are rights that are held because they do not require finite resources. However, healthcare not only costs money, but costs supplies.
Don’t get me wrong: everyone should have access to healthcare, regardless of who you are, your wealth, your race, or creed. Access to healthcare should be a right! Healthcare by itself cannot be a right simply because it is a finite resource. This is the same reason why having gas in your car is not a right.
Reform needs to happen. Do insurance companies profit unfairly? Probably. Do hospitals overcharge? Possibly. But creating a government healthcare system simply will not change this. Look at medicare. It’s consistently over-budget, corruption beyond what is reported, and abused beyond measure.
If the government can’t handle the 15% of the population that’s under medicare, how do they expect to cover 100%?
