Health Care: Neither Right, Privilege nor Commodity

Abstract

In a March editorial, Pavlakis and Roach wrote, “As long as health care is considered a commodity instead of a basic right, it will be susceptible to market forces and to efforts to maximize profits.” 1 Pavlakis S. Roach E.S. Follow the money: childhood health care disparities magnified by COVID-19. Pediatr Neurol. 2021; 118: 32-34 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar While appealing, labeling health care as a right without acknowledgement of what that right entails, how it generates reciprocal obligations, and how that label frames advocates for other approaches to improving healthcare as unsupportive of human rights is fraught. This approach precludes discussion of the desirability of a universal health care system (UHS); instead, declaring it must be so. What of the philosophical principle “ought implies can?” Health care for all is desirable, but can it be acceptably done and why should we think a more regulated health care system would provide more equitable care? Government bureaucracies are hardly known for their efficiency, the criminal justice system is near-completely a governmental entity, and concerns of unequal treatment/systemic racism have racked our country. Reply to Letter From KlunkPediatric NeurologyVol. 128PreviewI agree with Dr. Roach. Currently most large hospital systems are organized as “nonprofit organizations” and compete with limited regulation. There are antitrust laws affecting the health care marketplace, but monopolistic, or at least oligopolistic, tendencies flourish. These occur in advertising and predatory practices and in buying out competitors. Capitalism is allowed to function without much regulation, and many of the most vulnerable people are adversely affected. Full-Text PDF Predatory Health Care: Putting Lipstick on a PigPediatric NeurologyVol. 128PreviewWe thank Dr. Klunk for his thoughtful comments about our essay.1 We wanted to make people think and to stimulate discussion, and it is great to see that we succeeded. We focused on the effect of predatory hospital business practices on health care delivery and how the COVID-19 pandemic magnified the negative effects of these practices. Whether one considers universal health care to be a basic right or merely a desirable goal, predatory business practices by some health care organizations represent an obstacle to the provision of efficient and affordable health care for all. Full-Text PDF