4202020 Right to Health Care - Pros & Cons - ProCon.orgh.docx

4/20/2020 Right to Health Care - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org
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RIGHT TO HEALTH
CARE
Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled)
to Health Care?
Last updated on: 2/14/2019 | Author: ProCon.org
28.5 million people in the United States (8.8% of the US
population) do not have health
insurance. Among people who do have health insurance, 67.2%
have private insurance while
37.7% have government-provided coverage through programs
such as Medicaid or Medicare.
Employer-based health insurance is the most common type of
coverage, applying to 56% of
the US population. The United States is the only nation among
the 36 OECD (Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development) nations that does not
have universal health care
either in practice or by constitutional right.
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Proponents of the right to health care say that no one in one of
the richest nations on earth
should go without health care. They argue that a right to health
care would stop medical

bankruptcies, improve public health, reduce overall health care
spending, help small
businesses, and that health care should be an essential
government service.
Opponents argue that a right to health care amounts to socialism
and that it should be an
individual’s responsibility, not the government’s role, to secure
health care. They say that
government provision of health care would decrease the quality
and availability of health care,
and would lead to larger government debt and de�cits. Read
more background…
Pro & Con Arguments
Pro 1
The founding documents of the
United States provide support for a
right to health care. The Declaration of
Independence states that all men have
"unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,"
[42] which necessarily entails having the
health care needed to preserve life and
pursue happiness. The purpose of the US
Constitution, as stated in the Preamble, is
to "promote the general welfare" of the
people. [43] According to former
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), as
part of efforts to "promote the general
welfare," health care "is a legitimate
function of government." [44]
Con 1

The founding documents of the
United States do not provide
support for a right to health care.
Nowhere in the Declaration of
Independence does it say there is a right to
health care. [42] The purpose of the US
Constitution, as stated in the Preamble, is
to "promote the general welfare," not to
provide it. The Bill of Rights lists a number
of personal freedoms that the government
cannot infringe upon, not material goods or
services that the government must provide.
[43] According to former Congressman Ron
Paul (R-TX), "you have a right to your life
and you have a right to your liberty and you
have a right to keep what you earn in a free
country... You do not have the right to
services or things." [70]
https://healthcare.procon.org/history-of-the-right-to-health-care/
https://healthcare.procon.org/additional-resources/footnotes-
sources/#42
sources/#42
sources/#44
sources/#42
sources/#43
sources/#70

Pro 2
Instituting a right to health care
could lower the cost of health care
in the United States. According to a
study from the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst, under a single-payer system, in
which all citizens are guaranteed a right to
health care, total public and private health
care spending could be lowered by up to
$1.8 trillion over the next 10 years due to
lowered administrative and prescription
drug costs. [51] The American Medical
Association reports that private health
insurance plans spend 11.7% of premiums
on administrative costs vs. 6.3% spent by
public health programs. [52] According to
data by the Organisation for Economic Co-
Operation and Development (OECD),
Canada and the United Kingdom, two
countries that provide universal health
coverage, spend 47% and 42% of what the
United States did per capita in 2017. South
Korea, also with universal coverage, spent
just 28%. [129]
Con 2
A right to health care could increase
the US debt and de�cit. Spending on
Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's
Health Insurance Program, all government
programs that provide a right to health care
for certain segments of the population,
totaled less than 10% of the federal budget
in 1985, but by 2012 these programs took

up 21% of the federal budget and are
predicted to reach 30% of federal spending
by 2028. [78] [132] According to former US
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul
Ryan (R-WI), government health care
programs drive "the explosive growth in our
spending and our debt." [77] Research from
George Mason University concludes that
providing government funded health care to
all could increase federal spending by $32.6
trillion over the �rst ten years of
implementation. [133] The Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget calculates that
universal health care coverage would result
in an additional $19 trillion of federal debt
"causing debt to rise from 74 percent of
GDP in 2015... to 154 percent of GDP by
2026." [134]
sources/#51
sources/#52
sources/#129
sources/#78
sources/#132
sources/#77
sources/#133
sources/#134

Pro 3
A right to health care could save
lives. According to a study from Harvard
researchers, "lack of health insurance is
associated with as many as 44,789 deaths
per year," which translates into a 40%
increased risk of death among the
uninsured. [59] Another study found that
more than 13,000 deaths occur each year
just in the 55-64 year old age group due to
lack of health insurance coverage. [60] A
Commonwealth Fund study found that due
to a lack of timely and effective health care,
the United States ranked at the bottom of a
list of 16 rich nations in terms of
preventable mortality [109] and a further
study published in the Lancet ranked the
United States 29 out of 195 countries and
territories in terms of preventable mortality.
[122] In Italy, Spain, France, Australia, Israel,
and Norway, all countries with a right to
health care, people live up to �ve years
longer than people in the United States. [121]
Con 3
A right to health care could increase
the wait time for medical services.
Medicaid is an example of a federally
funded single-payer health care system that
provides a right to health care for low-
income people. According to a Government

Accountability O�ce (GAO) report, 9.4% of
Medicaid bene�ciaries have had trouble
obtaining necessary care due to long wait
times, versus 4.2% of people with private
health insurance. [102] Countries with a
universal right to health care have longer
wait times than in the United States. In the
average wait time to see a specialist in
Canada was 60 days, [136] versus 24 days in
the United States. [137] In the United States,
only 25% of patients had to wait at least
four weeks to see a specialist compared to
59% in Canada, 56% in Norway, and 43% in
the United Kingdom – all countries that
have some form of a universal right to
health care. [135]
sources/#59
sources/#60
sources/#109
sources/#122
sources/#121
sources/#102
sources/#136
sources/#137
sources/#135

Pro 4
The right to health care is an
internationally recognized human
right. On Dec. 10, 1948 the United States
and 47 other nations signed the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. The document stated that "everyone
has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of
oneself and one's family, including...
medical care." [49] In 2005 the United States
and the other member states of the World
Health Organization signed World Health
Assembly resolution 58.33, which stated
that everyone should have access to health
care services and should not suffer
�nancial hardship when obtaining these
services. [16] According to a peer-reviewed
study in the Lancet, "[r]ight-to-health
features are not just good management,
justice, or humanitarianism, they are
obligations under human-rights law." [50]
The United States is the only OECD nation
which does not have universal health care
either in practice or by constitutional right.
[119] [123] According to the Comparative
Constitutions Project, as of 2019, over 130
countries have a right to health care in their
national constitutions. [123]
Con 4

Implementing a right to health care
could lead the United States
towards socialism. Socialism, by
de�nition, entails government control of the
distribution of goods and services. [113]
Under a single-payer system where
everyone has a right to health care, and all
health care bills are paid by the government,
the government can control the distribution
of health care services. According to
Ronald Reagan, "one of the traditional
methods of imposing statism or socialism
on a people has been by way of medicine,"
and once socialized medicine is instituted,
"behind it will come other federal programs
that will invade every area of freedom." [84]
In Aug. 2013, when Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV) was asked if Obamacare
is a step towards a single-payer universal
health care system, he answered
"absolutely, yes." [111] The free market
should determine the availability and cost
of health care services, not the federal
government. [83]
sources/#49
sources/#16
sources/#50
sources/#119
sources/#123

sources/#123
sources/#113
sources/#84
sources/#111
sources/#83
Pro 5
A right to health care could make
medical services affordable for
everyone. According to a Gallup Poll,
paying for health care is the biggest
�nancial problem for US households. [124] A
2018 survey published by Becker's
Healthcare found that 22% of Americans
found paying their deductible was "very
di�cult" or "impossible" and 64% reported
that they delayed or did not seek medical
care due to cost. [126] The cost of US family
health insurance premiums increased 80%
in the United States between 2003 and
2013. [96] The cost of health insurance
premiums for people who do not get
coverage through work increased 105%
between 2013 and 2017. [125]
Con 5
Providing a right to health care

could raise taxes. In European countries
with a universal right to health care, the
cost of coverage is paid through higher
taxes. In the United Kingdom and other
European countries, payroll taxes average
37% - much higher than the 15.3% payroll
taxes paid by the average US worker. [85]
According to Paul R. Gregory, PhD, a
Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution,
�nancing a universal right to health care in
the United States would cause payroll taxes
to double. [85]
Con 6
could worsen a doctor shortage. The
Association of American Medical Colleges
(AAMC) predicts a shortfall of up to
104,900 doctors by 2030. [138] If a right to
health care were guaranteed to all, this
shortage could be much worse. Doctor
shortages in the United States have led to a
30% increase in wait times for doctors
appointments between 2014 and 2017. [140]
sources/#124
sources/#126
sources/#96
sources/#125
sources/#85

sources/#85
sources/#138
sources/#140
Pro 6
Providing all citizens the right to
health care is good for economic
productivity. When people have access to
health care, they live healthier lives and
miss work less, allowing them to contribute
more to the economy. A study by
researchers at the Universities of Colorado
and Pennsylvania showed that workers with
health insurance miss an average of 4.7
fewer work days than employees without
health insurance. [55] According to an
Institute of Medicine report, the US
economy loses $65-$130 billion annually as
a result of diminished worker productivity,
due to poor health and premature deaths,
among the uninsured. [105] In a speech,
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim stated
that all nations should provide a right to
health care "to help foster economic
growth." [56]
sources/#55

sources/#105
sources/#56
Pro 7
A right to health care could improve
public health. According to a study in the
Lancet that looked at data from over 100
countries, "evidence suggests that broader
health coverage generally leads to better
access to necessary care and improved
population health, particularly for poor
people." [99] In the United States, people are
33% less likely to have a regular doctor, 25%
more likely to have unmet health needs, and
over 50% more likely to not obtain needed
medicines compared to their Canadian
counterparts who have a universal right to
healthcare. [63] According to a 2008 peer-
reviewed study in the Annals of Internal
Medicine, there were 11.4 million uninsured
working-age Americans with chronic
conditions such as heart disease and
diabetes, and their lack of insurance was
associated with less access to care, early
disability, and even death. [65]
Con 7
A right to health care could lead to
government rationing of medical
services. Countries with universal health

care, including Australia, Canada, New
Zealand, [97] and the United Kingdom, [88] all
ration health care using methods such as
controlled distribution, budgeting, price
setting, and service restrictions. [104] In the
United Kingdom, the National Health
Service (NHS) rations health care using a
cost-bene�t analysis. For example, in 2018
any drug that provided an extra one year of
good-quality life for about $25,000 or less
was generally deemed cost-effective while
one that costs more might not be. [139] In
order to expand health coverage to more
Americans, Obamacare created an
Independent Payment Advisory Board
(IPAB) to make cost-bene�t analyses to
keep Medicare spending from growing too
fast. According to Sally Pipes, President of
the Paci�c Research Institute, the IPAB "is
essentially charged with rationing care." [89]
According to a Wall Street Journal editorial,
"once health care is nationalized, or mostly
nationalized, medical rationing is
inevitable." [98]
sources/#99
sources/#63
sources/#65
sources/#97
sources/#88

sources/#104
sources/#139
sources/#89
sources/#98
Pro 8
Because the United States is a very
wealthy country, it should provide
health care for all its citizens. Many
European countries with a universal right to
health care, such as France, Germany, Italy,
and the United Kingdom, have a lower
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita
than the United States, [127] yet they provide
a right to health care for all their citizens.
As of 2017, 28.5 million people (8.8% of the
US population) did not have health
insurance [118] and, according to a study by
the Congressional Budget O�ce, as many
as 35 million people will be uninsured by
2028. [128] The United States spent $10,209
per person on health care in 2017, over 2.5
times the average spent by member
countries of the OECD ($3,992 per person).
[129] With that level of spending, the United
States should be able to provide a right to
healthcare to everyone.

Con 8
A right to health care could lower
the quality and availability of
disease screening and treatment. In
countries with a universal right to health
care certain disease treatment outcomes
are worse than the United States. The US 5-
year survival rate for all cancers is 67%,
compared to 60% in Canada and 54% in the
United Kingdom. [141] [142] [143] Annually,
there are fewer cancer deaths per 100,000
people in the United States than in
Australia, France, Germany, Norway, and the
United Kingdom. [149] Out of OECD nations,
the United States is ranked at number two
for breast cancer survival, behind only
Sweden, and at number three for stroke
survival, behind only Japan and South
Korea. [115] Statistics show that US cancer
screening rates for cervical and colorectal
(bowel) cancer are higher than those in
Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
[144] [145] [146] [147] [148]
sources/#127
sources/#118
sources/#128
sources/#129
sources/#141
sources/#142

sources/#143
sources/#149
sources/#115
sources/#144
sources/#145
sources/#146
sources/#147
sources/#148
Pro 9
could bene�t private businesses. If
the United States implemented a universal
right to health care, businesses would no
longer have to pay for employee health
insurance policies. As of 2017, 56% of
Americans were receiving health insurance
through their employer. [118] According to
the Council on Foreign Relations, some
economists believe the high costs of
employee health insurance place US
companies at a "competitive disadvantage
in the international marketplace." [67]

According to the Business Coalition for
Single-Payer Healthcare, a right to
healthcare under a single-payer-system
could reduce employer labor costs by 10-
12%. [103]
Con 9
A right to health care could lower
doctors’ earnings. The Medicare system
in the United States is a single-payer
system where government pays for health
care bills, and between 1998 and 2009 it
reduced physician payments in three
different years. [91] In 2017, the
Congressional Budget O�ce reported that
private insurance payments were, on
average, 200% higher than payments made
by Medicare for certain treatments such as
radiation therapy or MRI scans and 89%
higher for hospital admissions. [150] In
Canada and the United Kingdom, where
there is a universal right to health care,
physicians have incomes 15-51% lower
than US doctors. In the United States, the
average physician income is $299,000
compared to $256,062 in Canada, and
$147,778 in the United Kingdom. [151] [152]
[153]
sources/#118
sources/#67
sources/#103

sources/#91
sources/#150
sources/#151
sources/#152
sources/#153
Pro 10
A right to health care could
encourage entrepreneurship. After the
introduction of Obamacare, which
increased access to health insurance for
Americans, the number of self-employed
Americans increased 150,000 between
2014 and 2016. [130] 6.1% percentage of
job-seekers started their own businesses in
2016, marking a four-year high. [130] A study
published in Contemporary and Economic
Policy found that providing universal health
care in the United States could increase
self-employment by 2 to 3.5 percent. [58]
Pro 11
A right to health care could stop
medical bankruptcies. According to the
National Bankruptcy Forum, medical debt is
the #1 reason people �le for bankruptcy in
the United States. [131] In 2017, about 33%

of all Americans with medical bills reported
that they "were unable to pay for basic
necessities like food, heat, or housing." [131]
If all US citizens were provided health care
under a single-payer system medical
bankruptcy would no longer exist, because
the government, not private citizens, would
pay all medical bills.
Con 10
A right to health care could cause
people to overuse health care
resources. When people are provided with
universal health care and are not directly
responsible for the costs of medical
services, they may utilize more health
resources than necessary, a phenomenon
known as "moral hazard." [93] According to
the Brookings Institution, just before
Medicaid went into effect in 1964, people
living below the poverty line saw physicians
20% less often than those who were not in
poverty. But by 1975, people living in
poverty who were placed on Medicaid saw
physicians 18% more often than people
who were not on Medicaid. [83] A study
published in Science found that of 10,000
uninsured Portland, Oregon residents who
gained access to Medicaid, 40% made
more visits to emergency rooms, [94] even
though they, like all US residents, already
had guaranteed access to emergency
treatment under federal law. [54] Since
Medicaid provides a right to health care for
low-income individuals, expanding this right
to the full US population could worsen the

problem of overusing health care
resources.
sources/#130
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sources/#83
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sources/#54
Did You Know?
1. 28.5 million people in the United States (8.8% of the US
population) did not have health
insurance in 2017, [118] down from 47.9 million (15.4% of the
US population) in 2012. [1]
2. The United States is the only one of all 36 OECD nations that
does not have universal

health care either in practice or by constitutional right. [119]
[123]
3. The United States spent $10,209 per person on health care in
2017, over 2.5 times the
average spent by member countries of the OECD ($3,992 per
person).[129]
Pro 12
A right to health care is a necessary
foundation of a just society. The
United States already provides free public
education, public law enforcement, public
road maintenance, and other public
services to its citizens to promote a just
society that is fair to everyone. Health care
should be added to this list. Late US
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) wrote that
providing a right to health care "goes to the
heart of my belief in a just society." [100]
According to Norman Daniels, PhD,
Professor of Ethics and Population Health
at Harvard University, "healthcare preserves
for people the ability to participate in the
political, social, and economic life of
society. It sustains them as fully
participating citizens." [101]
Con 11
People should pay for their own
health care, not have it given to
them by the government. Under a
single-payer system, the right to health care
is paid for through taxes, and people who
work hard and pay those taxes are forced to
subsidize health care for those who are not

employed. In the United States, people
already have a right to purchase health
care, but they should never have a right to
receive health care free of charge. Health
care is a service that should be paid for, not
a right. [154]
sources/#118
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sources/#119
sources/#123
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sources/#100
sources/#101
sources/#154
Did You Know?
4. The US �ve-year survival rate for all cancers is 67%, over
10% higher than the �ve-year
cancer survival rate in the United Kingdom (54%) and 7%
higher than Canada. [141] [142]
[143]

5. Medical debt is the #1 reason people �le for bankruptcy in
the United States. [131]
sources/#141
sources/#142
sources/#143
sources/#131
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SOWK 600 - Policy Analysis/Brief
1. Identify a social policy issue that is currently or has been
recently addressed at the state or federal level by the
legislative, executive, or judicial branch of government. It may
be an issue that directly or indirectly affects the clients served
by your field placement, agency of employment, your
community, or an agency at which you have worked.
2. Using one or more of the policy frameworks discussed in
class, the examples of policy briefs on the reading list, and
available research, write a 6-10 page policy brief (double-
spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman or Courier, with 1”
margins on all sides) analyzing this policy. In your analysis,
address the following questions (Note: The page estimates
below are recommended guidelines, not requirements): In
Maryland

· How did the issue come to the attention of policymakers?
Briefly describe its legislative history (~1/2 page). This part
and the next part will require some background research.
· How was the issue legitimated in the eyes of policymakers and
the public? Who were/are the key actors who made the issue
“legitimate” and mobilized support for or against the policy?
Briefly discuss the politics of the issue (~1/2 page).
· Identify the population-at-risk that is/will be addressed by the
proposed policy (1 paragraph or more with supporting data).
· Summarize the research that has already been conducted on (a)
the nature of the problem that policy is designed to address and
(b) the impact of previous efforts to address the problem (1-2
pages).
· What policy alternatives are or have been considered
regarding the policy’s focus, scope, key components, means of
implementation, or cost? What differences do these alternatives
reflect in their analysis of the issue, the policy’s goals, and its
potential impact? (~ 1 page)
· What assumptions about problem causation underlie the
proposed policy “solution(s)” to the identified problem(s)?
(~1/2 page)
· Assess the alternative proposals – e.g., in terms of their
comparative
· Adequacy: Horizontal and Vertical
· Equity: Individual and Social
· Inclusiveness of Coverage (~1-1.5 pages total, ~1-2
paragraphs each)
Due Date: Friday, April 21(20% of Course Grade)

Rubrics for Policy Brief
Exemplary
Proficient
Needs Improvement
Unsatisfactory
CSWE Core Social Work Competencies for Foundation Year
Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed
practice (Competency 4)
Use and translate research evidence to inform and improve
practice, policy and service delivery (Practice Behavior 4.3)
Student is able to locate substantial research evidence about a
specific policy; translate this research into an in-depth analysis
of how the policy affects practice, other policies, and service
delivery; and discuss how the policy could be revised to
improve the outcomes it produces. The student’s analysis is
well-written and well-organized; its arguments are presented
clearly, and it makes frequent references to the research s/he
has discovered.
Student can locate research evidence about the effects of a
specific policy on practice and service delivery, can discuss
these effects in some detail, and can translate this evidence into
a general presentation about how the policy could be revised to
improve the service outcomes it produces. The student’s
analysis is clearly written and generally well-organized, and
uses the research s/he has discovered to support most of his/her
major points.
Student can locate some research about a specific policy, but
can only apply this research to an analysis of the policy’s
effects on practice in general terms. The student’s analysis
often does not link the evidence s/he has discovered to the
specific policy or its effects. The student’s work is not well-
organized and some of the major points of his/her analysis are
not clear and/or not substantiated by research evidence.
Student is unable to
locate sufficient

research evidence to
conduct an analysis
of the policy. The
student’s assertions
about the policy are
not substantiated by
any research or are
contradicted by the
evidence s/he found.
The policy brief is
Not clearly written or well-organized; it
presents few or no
implications about
the policy’s effects,
and does not discuss
how the policy could
be revised to improve practice and service delivery.
4/20/2020 History of the Right to Health Care - ProCon.org
1/9
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) marchers
supporting
health care as a human right.
Source: “Twenty-Seven Arrested at NYC Protest (including 8
from PNHP)
Hundreds March for Single Payer Universal Health Care,”
pnhp.org, Mar.
29, 2007

Last updated on: 10/22/2018 | Author: ProCon.org
History of the Right to Health Care
28.5 million people in the United States
(8.8% of the US population) do not have
health insurance. Among people who do
have health insurance, 67.2% have
private insurance while 37.7% have
government-provided coverage through
programs such as Medicaid or
Medicare. Employer-based health
insurance is the most common type of
coverage, applying to 56% of the US
population. [118] The United States is the
only nation among the 36 OECD
(Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development) nations
that does not have universal health care
either in practice or by constitutional
right. [119]
Proponents of the right to health care say that no one in one of
the richest nations on earth
should go without health care. They argue that a right to health
care would stop medical
bankruptcies, improve public health, reduce overall health care
spending, help small
businesses, and that health care should be an essential
government service.
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https://images.procon.org/wp-
content/uploads/sites/25/physicians-for-a-national-health-
program-marchers-supporting-health-care-as-a-human-right-
picture.jpg
sources/#118
sources/#119
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2/9
Protesters at Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, NC, oppose the
PPACA.
Source: “No to Changes: People Opposed to Obama’s Proposed
Health-
Care Reform Protest Outside Hanes Mall,” journalnow.com,
Aug. 4, 2009
Opponents argue that a right to health care amounts to socialism
and that it should be an
individual’s responsibility, not the government’s role, to secure
health care. They say that
government provision of health care would decrease the quality
and availability of health care,
and would lead to larger government debt and de�cits.
Health Care Spending

In 2012 US health care spending totaled $2.8 trillion dollars and
accounted for 17.2% of the US
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). [2] The average annual cost of
health care for the typical US
family of four was over $20,000, [19] and health care costs that
year rose at double the rate of
in�ation. [20] According to a 2012 study from Consumer
Reports, paying for health care is the
top �nancial problem for US households. [18] About 62% of all
individual bankruptcies are
related to medical expenses according to the most recent study
available from 2009. [30]
According to a 2011 report, of the 34 member states of the
OECD, the United States ranks #1
in per capita health care expenditures at $8,508 per person,
which is 2.5 times more than the
OECD average of $3,339 per person. [17]
US health care spending is �nanced by a mixture of households
(28%), the federal government
(26%), businesses (21%), state and local governments (18%),
and other private sources (7%).
[2] Health care is the largest private-sector industry in the
United States accounting for about
13% of the total US workforce. [3]
Health Care in a Global Context
The United States is one of the world’s
only developed nations that does not
guarantee universal health coverage for
its citizens. [31] In 2005 the United
States and the other member states of
the World Health Organization signed
the World Health Assembly resolution

58.33, [16] which stated that nations
should “transition to universal coverage
of their citizens… with a view to sharing
risk among the population and avoiding
catastrophic health-care expenditure
and impoverishment of individuals as a
result of seeking care.” [107]
https://images.procon.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/anti-
health-care-reform-protesters-at-hanes-mall-in-winston-salem-
noth-carolina-picture.jpg
sources/#2
sources/#19
sources/#20
sources/#18
sources/#30
sources/#17
sources/#2
sources/#3
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sources/#107

3/9
Compared to the 34 nations of the OECD, the United States had
the third highest rate of infant
mortality (behind Turkey and Mexico), 2.4 practicing
physicians per 1,000 people (lower than
the OECD average of 3.1), and an average life expectancy of
78.7 (lower than the OECD
average of 80.1 years). [21][23][17]
In the United States, fewer than 10% of patients wait more than
two months to see a specialist
versus 41% in Canada, 34% in Norway, and 28% in France. [24]
The US 5-year survival rate for all
cancers is 64.6%, over 10% higher than the 5-year cancer
survival rate in Europe (51.6%). [26] A
2009 study found that the United States had better cancer
screening rates than 10 European
countries including France, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland.
[25] The United States is
estimated to have the highest prostate and breast cancer survival
rates in the world. [32]
The World Health Organization ranked the US health care
system at #37 out of 191 countries
in its 2000 report, between Costa Rica and Slovenia. [108] In
2014, the Commonwealth Fund
ranked the United States last in overall health care behind (in
order) United Kingdom,
Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, France, and
Canada. [109]
Historic Debate on Right to Health Care

Throughout the 18th and 19th century the US federal
government did not �nance or otherwise
provide health care to the public. [5] However, in the early 20th
century, a debate over the right
to health care began to emerge. In 1915 the American
Association for Labor Legislation
drafted a series of bills to provide state medical bene�ts to low
income workers. In 1920 the
New York State Commissioner of Health, Hermann Biggs,
began promoting public health
services at the county level, and Charles-Edward Amory
Winslow, the Chair of the Department
of Public Health at Yale University, wrote: “I look to see our
health departments in the coming
years… enable every citizen to realize his birthright of health
and longevity.” [6] That same year
the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates passed
a resolution o�cially
opposing compulsory health insurance in the United States, [7]
with one group of delegates
from Illinois calling it a “dangerous bolshevik” scheme. [38]
Government-funded
health insurance was
considered by President
Roosevelt’s Committee
on Economic Security,
but it was never included
as part of the 1935 Social
Security Act, [6] in part
sources/#21
sources/#23

sources/#17
sources/#24
sources/#26
sources/#25
sources/#32
sources/#108
sources/#109
sources/#5
sources/#6
sources/#7
sources/#38
sources/#6
4/9
Ronald Reagan on the cover of his 1961 spoken word record
‘Ronald Reagan Speaks Out
Against Socialized Medicine.’
Source: RJ Eskow, “Operation Coffecup: Reagan, the AMA, and
the First ‘Viral Marketing’

Campaign Against Medicare,” hu�ngtonpost.com, Apr. 10,
2007
due to opposition from
the American Medical
Association. [7] In 1938,
health care reform to
provide universal
coverage was proposed
by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt as an
extension of social
security, and [33] US
Surgeon General Thomas
Parran argued that “equal
opportunity for health is a
basic American right.” [6]
In Feb. 1939, Senator
Robert Wagner (D-NY)
introduced the National
Health Care Act of 1939
which would have
implemented a national
health care system, [5]
however, the bill did not
gain the necessary
support in Congress and
died in committee. [41]
In 1945, in another attempt at universal healthcare, Harry S.
Truman sent a message to the
United States Congress asking for a new national health
insurance program to be run by the
federal government. The voluntary program would have allowed

individuals to pay monthly
fees in return for coverage of all medical expenses. The
program was introduced in Congress
as the Social Security Expansion Bill. The bill never passed, in
part, due the American Medical
Association characterizing it at “socialized medicine.” [8]
Although a national health program
for all US citizens was not achieved, proponents of the plan
continued to advocate for
government-funded health insurance by shifting focus to
providing coverage to Americans
over the age of 65 and the economically disadvantaged. [106]
By the early 1960s, debate grew over the King-Anderson bill, a
precursor to Medicare, that
would have extend Social Security to cover the medical bills of
Americans over the age of 65.
Ronald Reagan, who opposed the bill, warned in a 1961 spoken
word record that “one of the
https://images.procon.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/ronald-
reagan-speaks-out-against-socialized-medicine.jpg
sources/#7
sources/#33
sources/#6
sources/#5
sources/#41
sources/#8
sources/#106

5/9
President Bill Clinton holding a copy of his health care reform
proposal.
Source: “Bill Clinton Holding His Health Care Plan,”
abcnews.go.com, Oct. 28, 1993
traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a
people has been by way of
medicine.” [84] Despite some public opposition, Medicare (the
Social Security Act Amendments
of 1965) was eventually passed by the House (307-116) and the
Senate (77-6), and was
signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 30,
1965. [106]
In 1971, President Richard
Nixon laid out a National
Health Strategy to reform
the health insurance
system and move towards
universal healthcare. [11] In
a 1972 message to
Congress, President Nixon
continued to advocate for
universal healthcare,
arguing that “reform of our
health care system – so
that every citizen will be
able to get quality health
care at reasonable cost regardless of income and regardless of

area of residence – remains
an item of highest priority on my un�nished agenda for
America in the 1970s.” [10] A competing
plan by Senator Ted Kennedy, the Health Security Act, sought
to implement a universal single-
payer federal health insurance plan to be �nanced through
taxes. [12] Despite their efforts, by
the end of the Nixon presidency, no health care legislation had
reached the President’s desk. [9]
President Clinton brought the issue of national health care back
to the forefront in 1993. On
Sep. 22, 1993, he delivered a speech to Congress stating that the
“most urgent priority” of the
nation was to provide “every American health security, health
care that can never be taken
away, health care that is always there.” [14] Three months later
the Health Security Act was
introduced to move the United States towards the goal of
universal coverage by requiring all
individuals to obtain health insurance and instituting an
employer mandate to provide
insurance. [13] The Association of American Physicians and
Surgeons (AAPS) called the act
“socialist,” and a “forfeiture of our freedom” that would
“destroy private insurance.” [15] During
this same time period other legislators introduced a competing
act to create a federally run
“single-payer” national health insurance plan. [11] As in the
1970s, none of the plans gained
enough support to pass Congress, much less make it to the
President’s desk.
Obamacare and the Right to Health Care
https://images.procon.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/bill-

clinton-health-care-plan.jpg
sources/#84
sources/#106
sources/#11
sources/#10
sources/#12
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sources/#11
6/9
President Barack Obama the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care
Act into law on Mar. 23, 2010.
Source: “Obama Signs Historic Health Care Bill,” cbc.ca
(accessed June
21, 2010)
During a presidential candidate debate on

Oct. 7, 2008, [34] then-US Senator Barack
Obama stated that health care should be
a “right for every American.” In a June 15,
2009 speech [35] delivered to the American
Medical Association (AMA), President
Obama urged Congress to craft legislation
that would ensure coverage for all
Americans. After intense debate,
lawmakers passed the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which
President Obama signed into law on Mar.
23, 2010. [36] According to a 2013 White
House estimate, 27 million previously
uninsured people will gain coverage under Obamacare. [22] A
separate 2013 study found that
despite the expansion in health insurance coverage under
Obamacare, 29.8 to 31 million
people would still remain without health care coverage by 2016.
[46]
The PPACA did not institute a universal right to health care,
and some members of Congress,
including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) [27] and
Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), [39] and
organizations, including Physicians for a National Health
Program (PNHP) [28] and the
American Nurses Association, [40] continue to advocate for the
implementation of a “single-
payer” health care system in the United States that would
guarantee the right to health care for
all Americans under a federally run health insurance plan. On
Sep. 13, 2017, Senator Sanders
introduced a “Medicare for All” bill to create a single-payer
health care system in the United
States. His bill, which had been introduced previously without

any co-sponsors, drew at least
15 Senate co-sponsors this time around. [116]
According to a Gallup poll that began in 2000, support for a
right to health care (�nanced by
the federal government) peaked at 69% in 2006, shrank to 42%
by 2013, [4] and rose back up to
52% in 2017. [117]
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content/uploads/sites/25/president-barack-obama-signing-the-
patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-into-law-on-march-
23-2010.jpg
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sources/#117
7/9
1. United States vs. International Health Care Spending
2. Medicare vs. Non-Government (Private) Health Insurance:
Comparison of
Administrative Costs
ID=005522
ID=004083
https://healthcare.procon.org/should-all-americans-have-the-
right-be-entitled-to-health-care-pro-con-quotes/
8/9
3. Should Prescription Drugs Be Advertised Directly to

Consumers?
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