Is Healthcare A Right Or A Privilege Essay

The ability care for yourself has always been the responsibility of the individual until The Social Security Amendments of 1965. It was these amendments that were created by Congress that started the Medicaid and Medicare programs of today. During this time, government decided that healthcare should be a right and no longer a privilege to the citizens of the United States. Except the rights came with criteria that had to be met in order to be eligible, so began the debate, is healthcare a right or a privilege? There are some who will argue that Declaration of independence proves we are to have basic healthcare. This is usually when the second paragraph of the declaration is quoted, “all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

Because we live in a very compassionate country, one that understands what morale obligations are, and that we should help the indigent and the elderly. We have churches and local community centers that use their financial resources to help the elderly and the poor, so they can pay power bills get food or sponsor children so they can play sports, when they otherwise would not be able to. It is this moral obligation that helps the free market to lower cost when possible, to increase competition so people can receive better care and improve healthcare so not as many people fall through the cracks. This doesn’t mean it becomes our right, but rather our moral obligation as a society to want to help and assist when we can. I once heard Sean Hannity, radio talk show host, say, “It is our moral obligation that makes up basic human rights, and when we tear down our morality then the whole concept of doing something for the right reason becomes doing something for the wrong