Is Healthcare a Right or a Responsibility?

By Jackie

With November 4th fast approaching, American voters are spending the final weeks of October sifting through each presidential candidate’s proposal to determine the potential personal and societal impact of each.  Given the current state of the economy, rising healthcare costs, gas prices and the war on Iraq, Americans clearly have a lot on their minds.  As each candidate’s policy offers a slightly different recipe for success, it’s up to the American voter to decipher the pros and cons of each proposal.

Given our interest and passion for healthcare, we’ve taken an opportunity to examine the basic healthcare reform policies for both Senator McCain and Senator Obama.  While both presidential hopefuls ultimately share similar objectives, their approaches and methodologies to achieving each goal differ drastically. 

At the most fundamental level, Senator Obama believes healthcare is an American right.  He is an advocate for “universal healthcare,” supporting a plan that would provide health insurance coverage to each and every American citizen through both public and private means.  Senator Obama’s plan mandates that all children have healthcare coverage and requires that employers offer employee health benefits or contribute to the cost of a new public program.  Albeit expensive, his “cure for an ailing healthcare system” aims to guarantee quality, affordability and portability of health coverage for every American.

Conversely, Senator McCain feels healthcare is an American responsibility.  Opposed to federally-mandated universal coverage, Senator McCain believes competition will help to improve the quality of health insurance.  He supports a plan that provides Americans with a variety of insurance choices, nationwide and across state lines, enabling families to take control of their healthcare costs.  He proposes tax credits of $2,500 and $5,000 that would help families to pay for coverage.  Emphasizing personal accountability, Senator McCain’s plan essentially makes each and every American responsible for his/her own healthcare coverage. 

So there you have it.  Something for each American voter to ponder before hitting the polls – is healthcare a right or a responsibility? It certainly holds no place in the U.S. Bill of Rights.  But with more than 42 million U.S. residents lacking insurance, perhaps we do need a stronger governmental intervention.  At any rate, we leave it up to the American public now to figure out which policy may best reshape a U.S. healthcare system in need of some TLC itself.

Add comment October 21st, 2008