"Whether it is the systematic denial of coverage and care in the private insurance system, the price-inflated private Medicare plans, the poor results of privatized Medicaid administration, or the costly Massachusetts health reform, in no instance has the market succeeded in providing equitable access to quality care at a cost affordable to individuals and society as a whole" (Ten Health Care Financing Principles to Ensure Universality, Equity, and Accountability, 2009). In reality, as a market good, health care is by definition very exclusionary. It is sold only to those who can pay and is readily exhaustible and depleted by private interests that take their cut from available resources through profit, leaving less for the public as a whole. A society that is inclined to protect both bodily and financial health should require a combined provision of health care on a guaranteed and long-term basis. Health care is treated as a public good that is sold in a marketplace and dominated by private interests, rather than as a commodity (Ten Health Care Financing Principles to Ensure Universality, Equity, and Accountability, 2009). Human rights principles clarify the social, economic, and moral aspects of our health care crisis and offer guidance for developing a holistic solution. If as a whole society agrees on the common goal of a healthy society, then they need to create a robust and sustainable system of collective health care provision that guarantees that everyone can get the health care they need, regardless of their ability to pay. If it is agreed...

As a society we cannot afford to waste them on insurance middlemen and other interests that inflate prices and reduce resources through bureaucracy, marketing, and profit-making. If it agreed on that moral obligations are conferred by human rights, which entails treating every person as our equal, endowed with dignity and an equal opportunity to pursue a healthy life, then we cannot exclude anyone from health care, or give them inferior care, or force them to pay private gatekeepers to access care. The social goal of universal health protection necessitates that we pursue cost containment by turning a volatile market good into a sustainable public good. And only a public good can be distributed equitably and thereby help us meet the moral obligation for equal treatment. Health care reformers who take into account these basic principles will be able to develop a sustainable system that is universal, equitable, and accountable to everyone (Ten Health Care Financing Principles to Ensure Universality, Equity, and Accountability, 2009).
References

Effects of Health Care Spending on the U.S. Economy. (2005). Retrieved August 19, 2009, from Web site: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/costgrowth/

Ten Health Care Financing Principles to Ensure Universality, Equity, and Accountability.

(2009). Retrieved August 19, 2009, from Web site:

http://www.nesri.org/Human_Rights_Principles_for_Financing_Health_Care.pdf

The Effect of Health Care Cost Growth on the U.S. Economy. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2009,

from Web site: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/health/reports/08/healthcarecost/report.pdf