It isn't and shouldn't be. It should be a luxury to those that buy insurance and are willing to use most of their paychecks to get it. My wife does this. She works for just the insurance and I support her by feeding and housing her.

In all other industrialized countries it is a right. It is not yet a right in the United States. Very few people who already have good insurance care about those that don't. Good question. +5

Right now in the US it is not. Every other industrialized liberal democracy does. We've been behind the curve on this issue for over 50 years. Private enterprise has demonstrated an inability to deliver this, so it falls to the state to do it. At least that's my left/libertarian view. +4

How is anything a right? Is it a right to get an education? It's certainly an advantage to society as a whole for all children - irrespective of their family's financial situation - to get the education that would enable them to contribute to the best of their abilities to maintain said society. The same applies to health care. Businesses often buy medical insurance for their staff and their families because it is to the businesses' own advantage for their workers and their families to be able to get health care when they need it. A country can see things the same way - it is beneficial to the country that when someone needs a doctor or a hospital they get it.

Have you ever read the Declaration if Independence? "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - Second sentence How about the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control." (Article 25, section 1)? Then again between our treatment of Native Americans early in our history, African-Americans until the 1960s, Japanese-Americans during WWII, Guantanamo Bay, and many other examples, I think it fair to say that the United States doesn't give a damn about human rights. Whatever the rest of the world does is absolutely wrong. We *must* be different, and if that means that we are the only industrialized world who lacks health care and embraces oligarchies and elitism to an extent that would make Kim Jong-il seem benign then so be it. Therefore, the only rights any of us have are the ones we can buy. IF you are rich, you can get away with murder. If you are poor, you will be arrested, billed for your jail cell, and then prosecuted again for inability to pay. But we are America so that must be the way tings are supposed to be because we are always right!

In as much as a fetus has a "right" to live.

Freedom of speech is a right because no one should control what I say. Freedom of religion is a right because no one should control who what or how I worship or if I worship at all. The right to bare arems is a right because no should say I can't defend myself. Now please tell me in those terms why Health care is a right. I'm not looking for, "Because other countries say it is" or "Because the insurance companies or greedy" Just Healthcare is a right because......

It isn't unless you can pay for it. In the States anyways. Canada has free health care, but that's actually pretty laughable. Most people who work still can barely afford fuck all unless they throw half their paychecks into work insurance, and even then they'll be broke for weeks after, and Welfare barely covers anything. At least it has the decency to prioritize small children though. That's more than admirable, but if you're in your 20's and have a cavity, might as well do it the hardcore way and bring out the pliers. I really don't see how it's a right, especially not in the States, but I suppose that can be interpreted in different ways. Guess it depends what political fence side you belong to.