Health Care Not a "Right" Under Government Monopoly

It used to be, that advocates of government-run health care based their claims on the notion that health care is a "right". Indeed, when the Benjamin Rush Society hosted a debate on the resolution that "universal health care is the responsibility of the federal government," one of the speakers in favor of the resolution, Dr. Oliver Fein, represented the Physicians for a National Health Program, (PNHP), which includes the "right" to health care in its mission statement.

(Personally, I enjoy it when I'm speaking publicly on health reform and someone tries to make me look evil by asking: "Do you think that health care is a human right?" My answer is: "Yes, I believe that you have a right to spend your own money on health care of your choice, free of government interference.")

Indeed, most people surely believe that "health care is a right" is the slogan emblazoned on the cornerstone of the Church of Universal Coverage. So, what happens when a government actually monopolizes health care, under this claim?

Because governments are not competent to provide health care as a "right" (anymore than they would be competent to provide shoes as a "right"), people who define their right to health care like I do have to fight the state to recognize it.

In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada found that elements of the province of Quebec's monopoly over health care violated citizens' human rights, because of the government's failure to deliver care. Since then, other Canadians have launched similar lawsuits in other provinces.

In British Columbia, the monopolistic provincial health plan is suing Dr. Brian Day, an orthopedic surgeon, for allegedly receiving direct payment from patients for performing surgeries in his clinic. Mindful of the 2005 Supreme Court decision, the province has adopted a novel legal tactic: claiming that health care is not a right! If that is the case, then the government's monopoly obviously cannot violate citizens' rights!

So what is government-monopoly health care all about then? Government greed? Lust for power over people's lives? One thing's for sure, once the state takes over, the citizen just hasn't got a chance.