The Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, entered and dominated the political mainframe mired in controversy. Some reformers publicly detested the individual mandate, which was a provision made to demand a fee from those who chose not to buy in. Others made more holistic protests, arguing that it was America’s first step towards crippling the private insurance industry with new regulations. One conservative radio host, Dave Ramsey, gained national attention just two years ago for claiming that this weakening of the private healthcare industry resulted in Obamacare equating to a communist system.
Although these controversies must be addressed on Capitol Hill and in primetime news, the perspective of the uninsured American has faded out of the conversation. President Obama took office with 45 million uninsured Americans, and cut that number in roughly half. The half that was able to afford healthcare for the first time is wondering whether they are going to lose what the ACA gifted them. The half that is still left without health insurance is wondering if it will ever be within reach. For the sake of all those that Obamacare sought to help, we must ask what we are willing to sacrifice to bring health insurance to those who need it.
First, let’s consider if healthcare is a human right. Is it something that every human is entitled to, regardless of creed, nationality, or gender?
The answer is yes. Health care is a human right. That is not a progressive perspective, nor a Democrat mantra. It is the blatant ethical truth. The function of healthcare is to preserve the human body and spirit through illness, and that protection has proven to be absolutely vital for a successful human being. In turn, the advancement of healthcare has directly led to an increase in life expectancy across both local and global communities.
Prior to the industrial revolution, human life expectancy was well below 40 years. As new capital brought expanded corporations, the newly economy brought about the reform of urban communities and the distribution of knowledge. As this happened, advanced healthcare was brought to new communities, and more Americans had access to the treatment that they needed. Between 1880 and 2019, the rise in life expectancy has nearly doubled. The only dip along the way was a 12-year drop in life expectancy due to the 1918 influenza pandemic. By 1919, healthcare professionals had set life expectancy back to normal by not only developing new treatments, but making them accessible to all who were in danger.
The effects of advanced healthcare proved similar as globalization brought more medical professionals to third world countries. Take Zambia, where the life expectancy has grown from just over 40 years in 2000 to over 60 years today, or Yemen, where life expectancy has doubled since 1970. The introduction of new biomedical practices in these regions and countless more have changed not only the definition of young and old in these countries, but they’ve changed the quality of life and the pursuit of happiness.
So imagine that a human being with a profoundly low life expectancy stood before you, and they were sick. This person did not have the same access to healthcare that you may have right now. A small illness—by today’s metrics—could stunt their careers, their relationships, or, in many cases, their lives. Nothing can be done now to save those people, because they did not have access to healthcare that we do. The only reason for this was that the health care that they needed did not exist.
But today, it does. Tuberculosis, influenza, polio, and countless other diseases have been cured or heavily protected against in the last century. Deaths from childbirth—both of the mother and the child—have been drastically reduced through new procedures before and after labor. Perpetual access to healthcare has pushed back the effects of aging by nearly 30 years. There are countless diseases that are still a mystery, but right now, the widespread influence of healthcare has transformed our society, and it has transformed the power of a human being.
It’s almost as if you and the ill person you imagined were of different species. You may have powers and privileges that the other person could not dream of. You may have the opportunity to cherish more years of your life than they would in their time. You may be nearly superhuman to them. But you are not. You are reaping the benefits of one of humanity’s greatest disciplines, and they did not even witness that discipline in nearly the same glory. Unfortunately, due to a still existing lack of access to healthcare, that human being you imagined may very well be your contemporary.
The truth is that health care is not a perpetual human right in the United States. As stated by the American Bar Association, “the United States has a system designed to deny, not support, the right to health.” Access to a medical professional or treatment is never guaranteed, and those who want to reach healthcare they need must overcome the barrier of entry that we as a society have chosen to fill in for every resource problem we have: money.
Denying individuals access to healthcare on the basis of financial obligation is a fallen pillar of our meritocracy. The underlying argument is that health care is an exchange between private entities. That is to say, a person “buys” health care from a doctor, pharmaceutical company, hospital or other institution that funds its existence through purchases. However, this materialistic view portrays modern health care as a commodity, rather than in its true essence: a collective achievement of mankind.
This year, millions of Americans will struggle to pay for medical bills that they did not ask for, because of medical emergencies that they did not expect. Many more will avoid medical bills at the risk of their own health, and the health of their families. The widespread disparity in life expectancy among communities in the United States is not a sheer byproduct of wealth inequality. It is the result of the denial of a human right.
Late night talk shows will not solve this problem. Congressional back-and-forth will not scratch the surface. The only for the United States to shift to a guaranteed health care system is for Americans to accept that it is not a progressive platform. It is an ethical platform.
Article by Shariar Vaez-Ghaemi of Montgomery Blair High School
Graphic by Angelina Guhl of Richard Montgomery High School