ACA Repeal/Replace: Progressives Face Moral Dilemma

[Warren Dew]

(01-23-2017, 12:00 PM)The Wonkette Wrote:

(01-22-2017, 06:39 PM)Warren Dew Wrote:

(01-22-2017, 05:34 PM)TnT Wrote: A peripheral topic that seems important is detailed discussion of whether, in this day and age, everyone is entitled to the best available health care (excepting of course clearly optional procedures like cosmetic surgery), or if one is only entitled to the healthcare that he/she can pay for.  Interestingly, this philosophical question impacts directly on the whole idea of health insurance.

You can spend essentially unlimited amounts of money on health care these days.  Obviously not everyone can be entitled to the "best available health care"; we just don't have the resources to give it to everyone, or even to very many people at all.

If you recognize that reality, it might be worth having a discussion.  If you're in denial about it, such a discussion is pointless.

A good place to start would be to ask if everyone is entitled to basic health care. If you believe that everyone is, then you ask what is the definition of basic health care?  Does it include preventive medicine?  Birth control (which is a cost saver)?  Cancer treatments?  Bypass surgery?  Transplants?  Dental care?

I think it would be better to start with what basic health care is, rather than immediately getting into a big argument about entitlement.