Health Care

Does each person have a basic entitlement to good health care or not?

The answer to that question is in effect being debated right now. I believe their can only be one answer to that question, and if we agree that everyone should get good health care, than the only question is how to provide it.

Currently a certain percentage of Americans lack health care coverage. Others who think they have it, often find out that in the event of a serious illness, the coverage is not as good as they think. There are numerous examples of people who have been lost coverage or been forced to reduce themselves to a poverty level because the health care coverage they believed they had was seriously deficient for long term illness.

I'm not sure if anyone would argue against the right to health care for all, but what they do argue against is Government involvement. This argument is effectively an argument against health care for all since it is obvious that our current system does not provide universal health care.

I see successful people argue against Government involvement, stating they have been able to get health care coverage and imply that everyone else can also. Of course if you have enough money you can, assuming that you don't have a condition that disqualifies you in the first place. It is interesting that you do see people who were in similar positions to the current arguers against Government involvement, who subsequently became victims of our health care system. Of course the experience changed their viewpoint but by then it was too late.

There is another argument for Government involvement that is in my opinion almost as persuasive as the moral one. It is a way to improve the competitiveness of American business. Currently our inefficient health care system costs everyone more than it should. If Government effectively provided a level of health insurance to everyone, it would become a tax cost, but no longer a business cost. I assume that certain companies might offer supplemental type plans to entice employees, but that would not drive benefit costs.

If we would also change from our current tax structure to one that taxed consumption, American products would not be burdened with extra cost. Everything sold in this country would be taxed equally. Using a consumption tax would have many beneficial consequences. It wouldn't result in a smaller tax burden, but it would ensure that American industry was not unduly burdened supporting our social programs.