Health care is not a right; it’s a service

By Tyler Grimes | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Photo by Phil Sunkel

We’ve all heard President Obama say he thinks health care should be a right for every American. I don’t think the government should be in the business of mandating the purchase of any good or service.

So what’s next? Will swimming pools, cars and house cleaners be “rights?” No, but like health insurance, they would improve our lives. If you cannot afford something, it is not the government’s responsibility to provide it.

The current health care system takes care of the poor. If you do not have insurance and you are poor, hospitals are legally required to treat you.

Look at it from a different angle. According to AspiringDocs.org, the average cost of medical school costs $22,199 to $39,964 per year, which doesn’t include the average $18,000 in other expenses. So, if you are a medical student, you are facing anywhere from $40,000 to almost $60,000 every year for four years, and that’s not even including four years of undergraduate study.

After medical school students graduate, they’re at least $100,000 in debt. But that’s not all. According to Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, med students must pay medical malpractice insurance, which costs anywhere from $20,000 to $200,000 a year. Thanks to the Democrats, the government may now tell doctors how much they can make per patient. So, as the government always does, it will begin to cut costs. To do that it will eventually have to cut services.

Soon quantity of life will be more important than quality of life in determining procedures. Sorry Grandma, no new hip for you this year, you are on your way out anyway.

Don’t believe me? The average wait time for a surgical procedure in Canada is more than 18 weeks. Damn you, Fox News and your right-wing lies, correct? Wrong. This was reported in an online article in the Canadian Press. Here is the link: Wait times for Surgery in Canada at All-time High

I don’t know about you, but I do not want to wait more than 3 months to get my tonsils taken out or my broken leg fixed. If I can afford it, I should be able to get it when I want it. This is America. I believe Obama has forgotten that.

I think we should remind him in 2012 with one of our real rights.

More from Health Care 101:

• The Top 5 Things to Know About the Health Care Reform:

  One thing that anyone — not just students — should know about the Health Care Reform bill is that it will affect them now, in September and then permanently in 2014. These are the top five things that an 18 to 26-year-old should know.

• Video: What students think about Health Care Reform:

  Flagler students voiced their concerns on Health Care Reform. Kyle Rogers doesn’t want others to have pay for him. Jonathan Hooper fears universal health care. Ryan Palm thinks the U.S. is behind the curve.

• Locals weigh in on Health Care Reform:

  Carol DiSalvo thinks the new Health Care Reform will be a welcome blessing to her and her husband. For many in St. Augustine, the newly passed reform is imposing long-awaited changes to the current health care system in the U.S. DiSalvo has been working in a small local bistro for the past two years.

• Opinion: New health care bill is a victory for corporate power

  Back when Liberal Democrats actually had spines, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a proposal during his final State of the Union address for a “Second Bill of Rights.” Roosevelt thought the civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights could not by themselves give economic equality to the American people.