Health and Opportunity

I’ve had serious writer’s block about this topic for a while, so I’m using the old “lower your writing standards and go for it” method that allows most of these posts to be written.

Why would society owe people health care? We don’t have mandates for a lot of other important things, and it seems that the default answer to this question should be ‘no’. People are not owed success, but they are owed an opportunity to succeed. The more I think about it, the more it seems like the health care system as it is robs many, many people of this opportunity.

According to NCHC:

A recent study found that 62 percent of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were linked to medical expenses. Of those who filed for bankruptcy, nearly 80 percent had health insurance.

(and I’ve seen similar numbers elsewhere)

If a family member is uninsured and is suddenly stricken with a serious, expensive illness, that family loses a tremendous amount of financial freedom. Will they be able to send their kids to college? Will they be able to try a new work venture? Tied down by extraordinary expenditures, it seems to me like they’re not nearly getting a fair opportunity to succeed.