Abstract
This paper examines the notion that, in the modern world, a just community will find it necessary to supply a decent minimum of health-care as well as a decent minimum of other basic needs to its members. The argument that health-care is an obligation of the just community is made by examining concepts of health, and the natural lottery as well as notions of community, justice and rights. If one accepts community as an institution constituted of persons united not only by duties of refraining from harm but likewise by duties of care, one's notions of justice, rights and obligations within such a world-view will incline one to accept a decent minimum of health-care as a basic condition of community. Minimal health-care in this paper refers to procedures which would save life, ameliorate pain, restore the function of vital parts and prevent future problems through public health and immunizations. What constitutes a ‘decent minimum’ within these concerns would vary from community to community and would be determined by an ongoing political process.
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