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Britt Combs: A "right to health care?"

Just what are these "rights" thingies, anyway?

By Britt Combs | The McDowell News

Published: November 3, 2009

I have health insurance for the first time in my life. It costs my employer a great deal of money to provide it. He doesn't provide it because he feels sorry for me. He provides it because I show up every day and strive to make him some money. He finds it is a necessary form of compensation in order to attract workers. In other words, it is a fair and free exchange.

We often hear it said that "everyone has a right to quality, affordable health care." That suggests there is very little incentive to go to work. As a contractor I made a lot more per hour than I do as an office worker. White collar wages are very low, compared to blue collar wages, but the "benefits" we receive through our employer-provided insurance package are very valuable, especially inasmuch as the benefits are not taxed. Were it not part of my compensation, I could not possibly afford insurance. I would have to, as I have done for decades, all my life, pay cash. I value it. It inspires me to keep working.

But if I have "a right to health insurance," that means, ipso facto, that I should not have to pay for it. By extension, neither should my employer.

The assertion makes it very clear that many people do not understand what constitutes a right. So, what is a right?

Raise your hand if you agree: People have a right to breathe air; to move about from place to place; to be secure in their persons and papers and personal effects; to speak as they wish; to assemble and associate with others of their own choosing, and to refrain from assembling or associating with those with whom they do not wish; to bear arms; to practice the religion of their choice; to print newspapers.

If you raised your hand for all of the above, you are absolutely correct; those are all rights. They are basic human rights, they do not come from government or from your neighbors.

What do they all have in common? Look at them a minute and see if you can find a common aspect among them. That's exactly right, you got it. None of them require anyone to do anything. I don't have to lift a finger to respect your rights. Just by the simple act of leaving you alone, I have respected your rights.

Rights are those powers you may exercise at will. Your rights are your power over your own body, mind, spirit and property.

Now compare that to this well-meaning but nonetheless absurd notion of a "right to quality affordable health care." Health care is not a naturally occurring substance, like air or water. It is not a personal freedom, like bearing arms or speaking or assembly.

Health care is a service and a category of goods, which must be produced by some and consumed by others.

Do you have a right to a good roof that doesn't leak? Certainly society would be a happier one if we each had a good roof on our houses. Greenhouse gas emissions would be lower because it would take less energy to heat and cool our homes if they all had good roofs. Childhood disease rates, and even fatalities, would be lower, because we'd have warmer, dryer, more comfortable homes. Does that make it a right?

If you have a right to a nice new roof, then would a roofer be violating your rights if he refuses to install you a new roof for free?

How about if we say that everyone has a right to get quality roof insurance. You cannot be turned down for any preexisting condition, or charged a higher rate due to the size or age of the roof. In other words, a leaking 40-year-old roof on a 4,000 square foot home should be replaced for the same cost as on a 5-year-old 800 square foot home. If the roofer tries to charge the owner of the big home more, he is a greedy crook, denying some their right to quality affordable roof care, right?

Well, now, that's just downright silly.

The problem with that "right" is that shingles, flashing, nails and felt all cost money. If you have a right to that stuff it means you have a right to take it away from the person who produces it. That's called thieving.

If you have a right to have it professionally installed, that's called slavery.

You might object, "I'll pay for the labor and materials, but I have a right not to pay an excessive price. I have a right to be protected from price gouging by evil, greedy roofers."

Ah, contraire, my friend. Who determines the fair price? The government? Consumers are the majority and roofers the minority. The government then has a vested interest in forcing the roofer to charge less. The government has no incentive to allow the roofer to negotiate for what he feels is the correct rate.
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Clearly the only just course is to allow each homeowner to negotiate with each roofer. That's called the free market.

Just as with health care, the longer you let the roof (or your body) deteriorate, the more it's going to cost to fix it. That's why pre-existing conditions cost more; why smokers and the obese pay more than skinny non-smokers. There even comes a point where the roof can't be fixed. It is so shot that the water has rotted the whole house and cracked the foundation. Same with your body, some human bodies are so far gone they just can't be saved; the patient is going to die. No one has a right to go on living forever. It is sad, but universally true.

Some people are just gonna have to pay more than others for health insurance, based on their age, condition, occupation, lifestyle choices and many other factors. And sadly, not everyone will be eligible for comprehensive insurance. Just as getting bids from many roofers will get you the deal you want on your roof, so a competitive free market in healthcare will get you the best insurance rate.

The pool of insurers from which I can choose, is strictly limited by laws and regulations. When government restricts market access to goods and services, the cost always goes up and the availability always goes down. Government and big business profit and the consumer pays and pays.

The correct solution to the health care question is to eliminate monopoly privileges that limit the market's access to insurance, ban "public/private partnerships" between insurance companies and government that allow price fixing and price gouging by eliminating negotiation between consumer and seller; pass tort reform that allows insurers and doctors to require patients to bear some of the responsibility for their own quality of care, and allow the free market to prevail.

It's a universal law in free markets that the seller who operates most efficiently and with the slimmest profit margin will be the most successful. The free market will cut costs more quickly and efficiently than the government ever could or would want to.

Every time.

Without exception.

No one wants to see everyone happy and healthy more than I do, but no amount of wanting or needing can justify slavery or thieving. None of us have the right to enslave or rob anyone. It's as simple as that.

Reporter Britt Combs, a noted hypochondriac, is widely regarded as the last truly great American. He writes a weekly column for The McDowell News. He welcomes comments, questions and suggestions.