Do We Have a Right to Health Care?

Oct. 13, 2006 — -- Ask any American politician if their goal is to provide all Americans with the highest quality health care available in this society, and the answer will almost certainly be a resounding yes.

Ask them if they believe all Americans have a right to such health care, and they'll probably still respond affirmatively, even though they may take a little longer to answer. They know if they say no they'll have to explain to the public who will receive it, who won't and what's the criteria.

So politicians profess to believe in health care for all Americans. But do they believe enough to secure it in the only place that really counts, in the U.S. Constitution?

That leads to a variation of the proverbial question, Which cames first, the chicken or the egg? or which should come first, health care programs or the right to health care programs?

As a practical legislator, I support progressive incremental legislation and improvements in our health care system. But doing so in many ways puts the cart before the horse. We ought to determine first, Do we have a right to health care?

I believe health care is a human right, but it only becomes an American right -- except for Supreme Court interpretation and precedent -- if it's in the Constitution. And it's more secure if it's there explicitly.

I've proposed a health care amendment (HJ Res. 30), but only 35 of my House colleagues -- liberals and all others -- are co-sponsors. It reads:

We can afford health care for all our citizens. The United States has a $12 trillion economy that dwarfs that of all other countries in the world. It's the most powerful economic engine the world has ever seen. The United States currently spends more than $2 trillion annually on health care, about 16 percent of our gross domestic product -- the most of any nation. Canada is second, spending only about 9 percent of its GDP on health care. Most other nations spend between 6 percent and 7 percent.