Is health care a need?
This paper aims to provide an argument for saying that a publicly funded health care system, available to all free at the point of delivery, is morally superior to a market system, and to provide a framework for deciding questions about which forms of health care should be included in such a public system. The argument presents health care as a 'head', in the sense of something to which human beings are morally entitled as a necessary condition for a life worthy of human dignity. Alternative arguments for similar conclusions, proposed by Daniels and Buchanan, are critically examined and rejected.
Matthews
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University of Aberdeen, Department of Philosophy, Scotland, UK.
D026686:Beneficence; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009014:Morals; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D017149:Private Sector; D017150:Public Sector; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012935:Social Justice; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological