Do you consider availability to affordable healthcare a right, such as the right to free speech, or a privilege, such as the privilege to drive a car?

In a country as rich as this one....yes.

Affordable healthcare should be a right. It should never have been the money making machine separating the "haves" & the "have nots" it's now become in this country.

A right. To my mind, it is shameful to deny people access to modern medical breakthroughs because they cannot pay. Health should not just be for the wealthy. The dilemma, however, is that medical development, be it new drugs or diagnostic equipment, requires substantial funding support, and the fact is that drug and medical companies need to first recoup their investment and then turn a profit to remain viable and provide the next generation of innovations.

It's not an easy problem to solve.

Every civilized country should want to make sure all of its citizens are taken care of.

AtownPeep wrote:

Every civilized country should want to make sure all of its citizens are taken care of.

The character of a country is measured by the way it treats its people.

A right. Health shouldn't just be for the wealthy. To my mind, it's shameful to deny people access to modern medical breakthroughs because they can't pay.

CeCe wrote:

Affordable healthcare should be a right. It should never have been the money making machine separating the "haves" & the "have nots" it's now become in this country.

Definitely should be a right. It's not fair for some to suffer just because they're less wealthy.

With that being said, there are many "free" clinics one can go to, but if they're anything like the ones in my area, they're screwed.

FireIce918 wrote:

Definitely should be a right. It's not fair for some to suffer just because they're less wealthy.

With that being said, there are many "free" clinics one can go to, but if they're anything like the ones in my area, they're screwed.

Those aren't available everywhere & many of the ones in existence are dealing with budget cuts. So yeah people without insurance or the cash to pay are screwed.

There is blame to be shared everywhere. It costs a lot of money to "live forever", which Americans as a whole appear to be striving for. But if it's going to take medical care to ensure an ultra-long life then it's going to cost. Also, I have a couple of nieces in different states who earn between $50 to almost $70 an hour as nurses. Another girl I know here just bought herself a brand new Lexus suv with cash that she's saved from her wages as a nurse. I think all this is outrageous. Not too long ago this is what doctors were earning. Small wonder hospital bills look as they do.

This is nothing new. The nation needed to start looking seriously into the rising costs of healthcare clear back into the early-to-mid 80's. I was working for a large employer then, still remember too well the screaming concern they already had over the cost of our insurance. That's a long time to not pay attention to a serious problem down the road for our nation.

I think that basic health care ought to be a right, but rapid/deluxe care a privilege and there are many models for getting the balance right.

Ideally, it should be a right; but more often than not a privilege. Some medical procedures are just too expensive for society to cover.