...Healthcare is a Right For several years, there has been an active debate among many Americans in the United States and their position on health care. For some individuals, health care is believed to be a commodity and an earned privilege. However, many feel that health care is a basic human right and follow universal and egalitarian guiding principles. Most importantly, health care is a fundamental right, just like food and water. According to the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization, its preamble defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. The preamble further states that, “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.” Overall, accessibility to health care is a major factor that must be addressed. As a nation, we have the responsibility to achieve social justice and support the systems that sustain the human right to health care. Some of the recent questions and concerns encompassing the right to health care include issues that address access, fairness, choice, value, quality and cost. On a national level, our health care system is economically draining. The United States is already the world’s biggest health care spender, surpassing countries that provide universal health care access. It spends the highest percentage...
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...Executive summary Ghana also known as the Republic of Ghana is a country located on the west corner coast of African continent with Ivory Coast to the west, Togo to the east, Burkina Faso to the north and Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean to the south. The word Ghana means “warrior king”. Ghana is a sovereign state with about 12 million citizens living in the both the rural and urban cities as well as towns and villages. The country receives an average of 258mm of rain annually and most of the region have the capability to handle the rainfall amount but the major cities such as Accra and Kumasi have seen a large immigration volume hence overload for the drainage system. Accra which is the capital of Ghana as well as other cities has become a perennial phenomenon. Urbanization, climate and reduced capacity of drainage channels, maintenance of garbage disposals, public attitude, erosion and sediment delivery, obstructions and damming of water bodies have contributed to annual flooding in the region. This annual flooding has created an appropriate environment for mosquito colonies which have become a major problem for the Ghanaian government. Mosquitoes carry the virus for malaria and when it rains, they are able to breed in these ponds, stagnant waters bodies that are created from the rain. The mosquitoes feed on warm bodies that is mostly animals and humans. When the mosquito bites a human, it transmits the virus into the person’s blood stream. Although not all mosquitoes...
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...THE RIGHT TO HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................i About the Center for Economic and Social Rights ...............................................................i Executive Summary............................................................................................................ ii Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 I. The Legal Framework for the Right to Health ................................................................ 4 A. The Right to Health in the UDHR and ICESCR..................................................... 5 B. Substantive Elements Required to Fulfill the Right to Health................................ 6 C. Procedural Protections of the Right to Health ........................................................ 7 II. The Current U.S. System ............................................................................................ 8 A. The Legal Structure................................................................................................. 9 B. The Financial Structure: Who Pays? Who Profits? .............................................. 11 III. International Standards in the U.S. Context .......................................................... 13 A. Availability...........................
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...Healthcare: A Right or a Privilege An Argument over National Healthcare in the United States Bobbi Pippins Soc 120 Instructor: Sheila Fry March 23, 2012 Healthcare: A Right or a Privilege An Argument over National Healthcare in the United States There will always be a debate over what is considered fair healthcare in America. As long as there is no national healthcare system that is equal for everyone, there will be arguments over whether it is a right or a privilege. Research will show that healthcare is a basic right for every human being in the world, and that by having a national healthcare system in America, this right can be enforced. America has, for many years, had the view of an ethical egoist, where something is good or right only if it helps to achieve the desired goal of the politicians. While using the utilitarianism view, or that which produces the best results for the greatest number, may well be the view that this nation should embrace. Healthcare should be a basic human right for everybody in the world. While national healthcare for everyone might be complicated to get started, if everyone had equal access to healthcare there would be more preventative care and therefore less costs due to chronic illnesses, diseases such as cancer, would be caught in the early stages of progression which would, in turn, allow for more treatment options and more chances of...
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...Healthcare a Right or a Privilege Cheryl Alcala Intro to Ethics and Social Responsibility Noel Sauer September 17th 2012 Should healthcare be a right or a privilege? In today's society it is becoming more of a privilege than a right. I believe that this is not the way things should be. Our government did not originally intend for it to be this way. I believe that our fore fathers wanted everyone to have the same rights. Was healthcare in the constitution? No, but I do believe that if our forefathers were alive today things would be much different. The issue at hand is healthcare and should it be a right or a privilege. The problem that this presents is this. Do we allow healthcare for everyone or do we chose who has the right to healthcare? Healthcare should be allowed for everyone in the united states. I feel that everyone has the right to be healthy. Other countries have implemented free healthcare and I feel the pros out weigh the cons. With free healthcare you are promoting a healthier society not to mention possibly increasing ones life expectancy. In retrospect your allowing people the chance to live longer healthier lives. Our government it is my belief wants to control who gets healthcare and who doesn't. I feel that this is their way of controlling our population, and continuing to remain in control of our lives. Why is it fair for a wealthy person to receive full medical and dental benefits yet a person of low income status cannot? Do you...
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...The right to health care coverage Nickolai Shaner XBCOM/275 June 7, 2014 Rhonda Curry The right to health care coverage The right to health care coverage has long been a debate within our government. Those that worked part time, were indigent or were healthy chose the path of no insurance. Unfortunately, things happen, tragedy strikes and if one does not have health care then the unthinkable happens. According to statistics nearly one-third of Americans do not have health insurance (Glied, n.d.). That individual will accrue hundreds or thousands of dollars of debt that can cripple them financially forever. There are varying degrees of advantages of government health care coverage versus private health care coverage. We will look at the role that the government has played thus far in providing universal health care and how successful that may be. According to "Where Can I Read The Affordable Care Act?" (n.d.),The Affordable Care Act was introduced and passed into law in 2010. President Obama had made strides to over healthcare to every individual in the United States. Over the past four years there have been many attempts to nullify and repeal the act but there have been many praises of the act as well. For individuals that had individual healthcare this has not been a welcome law. Many people feel that government should not be involved in healthcare as a general rule. ...
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...Healthcare Assignmnet Kelly Hoffpauir April 7, 2013 N2536 According to the preamble of the Constitution of the United States, it is the responsibility of the government to take care of the general welfare of the population, but healthcare is not defined as a right in the Bill or Rights or anywhere else in the constitution (US Constitution Online, 2010). While I believe healthcare is a privilege, I believe the government has a duty to ensure that its citizens are given the basic level of care necessary to consider them treated, whether government or citizens are paying for it. It isn’t defined as a right to Americans to have health care. In the same sense, I feel that the provisional code that states that it is the nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group or community is where the general welfare is spoken about (AACN, 2005). After reading an article on the website, heritage.org (2010), I feel that in this day and time, the determination of who has access to health care has fallen to the government. It is directly and indirectly related. It is related because the reform mandates that everyone has insurance whether it is from the government or from an employer. Employers are having a hard time finding low-cost premiums that provide the employee with a variety of options...
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...Healthcare Responsibility: An Economic Perspective Is healthcare a right or a privilege? While it’s foremost an ethical question , a practical view of the healthcare privilege quandary begs an analysis of its financial ramifications of both answers . With the out-of-pocket cost of healthcare skyrocketing year after year, , the economic question arises: Who should bear the primary responsibility of paying for healthcare, the individual or society? Many nations such as Canada provide universal healthcare to its citizenry at a cost funded by higher taxes on both earned income and regular consumption. . The answer to the question of who should pay for healthcare must take into account both the quality of life for the patient and the financial ramifications for society. It is a universal belief that all individuals deserve to experience a happy and healthy life, but to what extent is the individual responsible for their health. In examining whether the individual or society should pay for healthcare, one must consider both the well-being of the individual and the fiscal welfare of society. These elements do not stand separate, but rather are intertwined. A society is composed of individuals; the health and well-being of a society is the summation of the health and well-being of all individuals in that society. The better individuals feel, the better they can function and contribute to a society's stability and growth. When a worker is in good health, he or she can best contribute...
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...Discovering the Right Fit in the Healthcare Industry Lina Robinson ENG 1000 Lorrinda Khan November 14, 2011 Introduction The health care industry is constantly changing at a rapid pace that requires organizations to adapt to the process of newly managed care. The hiring process is vital to an organization’s growth and development, so during the interviewing process, employers should be able to notice if the job is right for a new hire or not. Money, energy and time spent properly hiring, orientating and training a new employee doubles in order to do so. Organizations depend on their existing and new employees’ production and longevity to enhance their mission statement, character and capitol, in order to be successful. “Every organization wants to attract, motivate, and retain the most qualified employees and match them to jobs for which they are best suited” (BLS, 2010-2011). Organizations go through all of these steps to fill positions, but still fail to place the new hire in the right fit that will benefit them as well as the company. To prevent the issue, the hiring department has to understand new hires strengths and where to place them in the organization. It is not an easy task making hiring decisions, but good training (various seminars, coaching and educational literature) can improve organization’s potential skills to hire the right employees and place them in a position that suits their strengths, and in turn...
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...Rights of undocumented aliens to healthcare Name: Institution: Date: Executive summary According to the US Congress in 2010, President Obama made the PPACA a law but still this act does not include the undocumented aliens in the medical coverage. This report reviews the rights of the undocumented aliens to healthcare and hoe this can be improved. This research discovered that the undocumented aliens have limited access to health care due to lack of identity papers. This is due to the fact that they earn very low income and medical insurance coverage is lower for the undocumented aliens. As a result, they rely on the safety-net medical care providers such as social health centers as this centers continue to provide care for the undocumented aliens. This research also reviews the limitations and problems faced by the undocumented aliens in accessing health care and as a result the ploys they use to access medical care. The findings of this research show that they mostly rely on treating themselves with over counter drugs or in the cases of extremes they use unofficial networks to seek treatment. Also, it is evident that they would do anything to safeguard their cover from being discovered and these results in stress and psychological disorders. Another finding is that despite the healthcare reforms, undocumented aliens still have no rights to access health care compared to the US citizens. This research recommends designing of programs which focus on the issue of undocumented...
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...Tyrell’s ethical right to make healthcare decisions According to ethical principles of health care that we apply in our everyday practices, Tyrell and his parents’ rights should be respected based on autonomy and nonmaleficence. With regards to autonomy, every patient has a right to make the decision based on the information provided them by the healthcare team (Guido, 2014). Tyrell and his parents had been furnished with adequate information to make informed decisions regarding his treatment. The Physician and the Healthcare team informed them about the risks and the benefits of the chemotherapy and should allow them to make their own decisions even if the physician and his team do not agree with their decisions. In fact, there are different...
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...Received, "A" Healthcare Scenario Regarding Asthma 1. Do you think this girl is receiving adequate care? I do not think she is receiving adequate care. If she was getting adequate care, the E.R. would have put her on a preventative asthma medication. This would control the present, nerve-wracking symptoms. Being that her mother and father can’t purchase health insurance, she is not receiving adequate care. 2. Should she be able to see a primary-care physician before her condition gets so acute that she must visit the E.R.? Yes, she should have been able to see her PCP before her condition got so bad that she had to go to the hospital. The PCP can help her to understand what triggers her attacks, how to stay clear of those triggers, and give her a possible treatment/action plan. If she could get in to see a PCP, he/she will give the girl medication explain the medication, as well as how to take it. Also, if she were to see a PCP, she could let the PCP be aware of any changes in her symptoms. She will also be able to talk about any side-effects of her medications with the PCP. If the girl had a PCP, she more than likely would not end up in the E.R. as frequently. 3. Should everyone be entitled to a basic minimum of healthcare or to the exact same healthcare? Yes, I feel everyone should be entitled to a basic minimum of healthcare due to the fact that basic minimum healthcare is essential. If an individual doesn’t have basic minimum healthcare, that individual will...
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...Grade Received, "A" Healthcare is a privilege that is within reach of the rich, a benediction supplied strictly under the consideration of a business who hires, a government-financed insurance plan for the aged, or a generous gift supplied from the generosity of other individuals. Our Founding Fathers said that we are gifted with indispensable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is understood that for individuals to live, then we must remain healthy. However, there is very little discussion of this right in the Constitution. One particular amendment to the Constitution says that convicts are to be approved to have a right to healthcare (Healthcare: A Privilege, Not a Right, 2011). Presently, convicts are the only ones that are given the right to healthcare. If our Founding Fathers would have foreseen how important healthcare would become, it is likely that they would have allowed each and every individual to have a right to healthcare. When the Constitution was being framed, although inadequate in comparison to the present norms, healthcare was more or less attainable to all individuals. There wasn’t a large deficit of people that could not afford it or have access to it (Healthcare: A Privilege, Not a Right, 2011). Makers of the Constitution, such as Thomas Jefferson, were greatly affected from their own happenings. Thomas Jefferson was not very trusting of doctors, and instead trusted nature. Founded on a practical image of the inadequate...
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...Some say the right to healthcare is the right to life. However, people should pay for their own healthcare, not have it given to them by the government. Under a universal healthcare system, the right to healthcare is paid for through taxes, and people who work hard and pay those taxes are forced to subsidize healthcare for those who are not employed. In the United States, people already have a right to purchase healthcare, but they should never have a right to receive healthcare free of charge. Healthcare is a service that should be paid for, not a right. In European countries with a universal right to healthcare, the cost of coverage is paid through higher taxes. In the United Kingdom and other European countries, payroll taxes average 37% - much higher than the 15.3% payroll taxes paid by the average US worker. According to research, financing a universal right to healthcare in the United States would cause payroll taxes to double. In addition, a right to healthcare could increase the US debt and deficit. Spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program, all government programs that provide a right to healthcare for certain segments of the population, totaled less than 10% of the federal budget in 1985, but by 2012 these programs took up 21% of the federal budget. Studies have concluded that the expansion of insurance coverage under universal right to healthcare will increase the federal deficit by $340-$700 billion in the first 10 years, and could...
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