Health Care Ethics

Introduction

Health care is the main topic of debate among the corporate world today. Doctor’s cost, prescriptions, insurance premiums, etc have led to an increase in the health care costs, not only for the individuals but also for the companies that employ them with the provision of heath care benefits. As a result of rising health-care costs and the challenge to contain them, companies are trying to encourage employees to take better care of themselves and some are even penalizing employees if they do not. For instance, Wal-Mart Inc. has announced that, starting in 2012, free smoking cessation programs will be made available to employees but tobacco users will be charged higher health care premiums. A survey conducted by a consulting firms

They also lay off unhealthy employees due to the very same reason. But this move directly affects basic ethics of an employer. First and foremost, it shows the selfish nature of the companies who only want work out of an employee but doesn’t want to care for their health and well-being. They overlook the contribution of those workers and increase in productivity they can lead to, just because they don’t want to take responsibility of them. What if a worker gets ill due to the working conditions of the firm, then it’s totally a firm’s responsibility to take care of said worker. This laying off primarily hurts lower-income workers and forces harder times on already poorly paid class. This practice is unethical as it betrays loyal works and hurts people and their communities. And that will hurt the rest of the company and the stakeholders, which may betray their trust in management. Another disadvantage associated with it is that morale, productivity, and loyalty in the workplace may suffer among the employees who are left. It is not only devastating to those laid off but also can have weakening effects on employees that remain in the company — it can cause fear and anxiety, organization disruption, increasing

Thus all stakeholders of the firm suffer. Ethical management means reducing the hardships, spreading the pain equally and bearing some responsibility for the consequences. Although the law limits the duties employers have to employees, ethics sets a different standard. There are moral obligations involved and the firm can’t simply ask the employees to quit as there is already a scarcity of jobs. Layoffs leave the people to the status of disposable objects. But people are not machines. Many ethical systems require that one does not treat a person like a thing. One must regard other people as full human beings with the same moral rights as himself. And that must include the right to earn a