User:Silly rabbit/Human rights and the United States

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[edit] Health care

See also: Health care in the United States

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of oneself and one’s family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care.”[1] In addition, the Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association require medical doctors to respect the human rights of the patient, including that of providing medical treatment when it is needed.[2] Influential figures, such as Pope John Paul II, have stated denying access to afforable health care is a violation of the right to life.[3]

Unlike most other industrialized nations, the United States does not offer its non-impoverished citizens (under the age of 65) subsidized health care. The United States Medicaid program provides subsidized coverage to individuals and families with low incomes and resources. Coverage is subsidized for persons age 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria through Medicare, and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986 mandates public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay, citizenship, or immigration status.[4]

Nevertheless, according to a March 2007 poll by CBS News and the New York Times, 81 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the cost of health care.[5] 46.6 million Americans, or 15.9 percent, were without health insurance coverage in 2005.[6] Moreover, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act has been criticized by the American College of Emergency Physicians as an unfunded mandate.[7][8]

[edit] Universal health care debate

The level of government involvement in providing, ensuring, and enforcing the right to adequate health care is a topic of longstanding political debate. Historically, several Democratic Presidents (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton) and legislators have attempted to institute universal coverage, as well as Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. One debate concerns whether universal health care is a human right, as defined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The Center for Economic and Social Rights, an international human rights advocacy group, calls for health care reforms in the US to reflect the "right to health," and that the current US health care system "falls short of international standards for the right to health."[9]

The most recent attempt to institute universal coverage was in 1994 when First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton, an attorney and social activist experienced in the area, strongly supported by trade unions, tried to implement a universal-care plan without a single-payer system; however, Republicans in Congress, strongly supported by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, defeated the measure, heavily airing a series of commercials featuring a fictitious couple, "Harry and Louise", who were shown wondering how the Clinton plan would affect their existing coverage. Several candidates (mostly Democratic) for the 2008 Presidential election are supporting various forms of universal coverage. Most Republicans believe health care costs should be left to the market with minimal government involvement. 2008 GOP Presidential contender Mitt Romney, as Governor of Massachusetts, helped institute a system requiring Massachusetts residents to buy private health insurance, with subsidies for those who cannot afford it.

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Human Rights, Homelessness and Health Care.
  2. ^ American Medial Association. Principles of medical ethics.
  3. ^ Paul II, John (1981-10-01). On Human Work: Laborem Exercens. Pauline Books & Media. ISBN 819833487. 
  4. ^ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act
  5. ^ U.S. Health care politics. CBS News/New York Times (2007-05-01). Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  6. ^ The number of uninsured Americans is at an all-time high. CBPP (2006-08-29). Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  7. ^ American College of Emergency Physicians Fact Sheet: EMTALA accessed 2007-11-01
  8. ^ Rowes, Jeffrey (2000). "EMTALA: OIG/HCFA Special Advisory Bulletin Clarifies EMTALA, American College of Emergency Physicians Criticizes It". Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 28 (1): 9092. 
  9. ^ Center for Economic and Social Rights (2004). The Right to Health in the United States of America: What Does it Mean?.