Health Care and the Common Good
So, the basic debate in the U.S. over healthcare is not really about costs or the freedom to choose one's own doctor. The facts are clear: The World Health Organization rates the U.S. 37
th (!) in healthcare while we spend a much higher percentage of our Gross Domestic Product on healthcare than Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, or other industrial democracies for this lower quality coverage. A universal, single-payer, health insurance program would both increase the choices of physicians available to most Americans and would, after initial start-up costs, lower healthcare costs overall. These facts have been known for decades.
The real issue is whether healthcare is a right (as most progressives believe) or a privilege for those who can afford it (as most conservatives believe). If healthcare is a right, then universal healthcare is mandatory. But if healthcare is simply another consumer commodity to be sold to the highest bidder, then we should simply leave things to be influenced by market forces.
These alternatives come down to basic convictions...basic ways of looking at the world. The "privilege" position sees human life as competition between autonomous, individuals, each looking out for her or his self interest only. But the "healthcare as a right" position sees us all as interconnected and validates the benefit of ensuring the common good.