Universal Health Care - Ethical Issues in Health Care Reform

The universal health care seems to be a hotly debated topic since the reform of health care in the United States is discussed.
Those who argue that health is an individual responsibility does not want a system that requires them to contribute tax revenues to support our fellow citizens who are not acting responsibly to protect and promote their own health. They say they want the freedom to choose their own doctors and treatments, and suggest that the Government can not know what is best for them. These people argue that preserving the current system with improvements to provide better insurance coverage for people who remain uninsured or not covered under their medical care needs is the only reform that is needed.

Those who believe that health care is an individual right to support a universal system of health care with the argument that every citizen deserves access to appropriate care at the right time and that the responsibility of government is to protect its citizens, sometimes even themselves.

Two opposing arguments from two opposing ideologies. Both are good arguments, but none can be the argument to support the execution or denial of universal health care. The issue must be resolved by an ethical framework.

An examination of ethical issues in reforming health care would require consideration of the arguments very different from those already presented. Ethical issues would Center on moral rights. Discussion should begin by not "What is best for me?" but rather: "How do we as a society to act so that our actions are morally wrong?

Ethics refers to the determination of good and evil in the way humans relate to one another. Ethical decision making to reform health care, they would be human beings to act in light of our relationship to another are not owners of our individual interests.

The review of certain decisions that make common ethical theories can provide a basis for a perspective different from that which concerns only the rights and freedoms.

Ethical decision making requires that specific questions be answered to determine if its actions are good or morally correct. Here are some questions that could be used in ethical decision making to reform health care.

* What measures will bring the most good to most people? * What action itself is a good law and helps us fulfill our duties, obligations and responsibilities towards each other? * What action itself shows care and concern for all citizens?

As the answer to all these issues, universal health care can still be considered the right thing to do.

The United States is the most advantageous position there when it comes to reforming health care. They are the only developed country without a national system of health care in place for all citizens. They have the opportunity to learn from mistakes that were made by all other countries that have already taken the road to universal health care. They have an opportunity to design a system that can shine like a jewel in the crown of systems of universal health care everywhere.

However, all ethical decision making is structured around values. For the universal health care to be embraced by all citizens of the United States, they must first agree on the collective value of equity and fairness and to embrace the goal of the meeting of their collective responsibility to another while preserving the rights and freedoms. This may be the most difficult obstacle of all.