Obama: Health Care Should Be A Right (VIDEO)

Tom Brokaw put the question to each candidate, "Is health care in America a privilege, a right, or a responsibility?" I'm not sure what McCain meant by, "I think it's a responsibility, in this respect, in that we should have available and affordable health care to every American citizen, to every family member," which seemed to suggest it was a right, but couched in responsibility. Obama was a bit more forthright, averring that it was a "right." His introductory remarks managed to connect his big-picture thought on the matter with both his biography -- a poignant reminder of his mother's final days -- and the kitchen-table issue of the declining economy. I recall that the last Democratic candidate for President who managed these sorts of connections was named Bill Clinton.

[WATCH.]

OBAMA: Well, I think it should be a right for every American. In a country as wealthy as ours, for us to have people who are going bankrupt because they can't pay their medical bills -- for my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in the hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they're saying that this may be a pre-existing condition and they don't have to pay her treatment, there's something fundamentally wrong about that.

[View Obama's complete remarks on healthcare.]

Comments

[north bostonian]

04:50 PM on 10/12/2008

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. These are inalienable rights, and the charge of government is to support these rights. We have guaranteed education, police, fire, libraries, as well as social security and medicare that enable the individual to enjoy these rights. An effective health care system enables life, liberty (freedom from anxiety, bankruptcy, and sickness) and the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment. Health care is a right in that it derives from the three most basic rights of the individual. Every western democracy sees and does this. We can do it too.

[steve-in-abq]

10:45 PM on 10/21/2008

These rights you have listed are referred to a "negative rights', which basically means that others do not need to take any action. For the taxpayers to provide goods and services to the people is not taking no action. It is redistributing wealth. It is taking from one group and giving to another group. If health care was a right, then, we could, by extension, begin listing all sorts of goods and services as rights that the government (i.e. taxpayers) must provide. This probably sounds good to people that will not be paying for these rights you speak of. And for you people that are willing to pay higher taxes so others can receive better healthcare, please consider this, 'you cannot be generous with others people's money'.

[eejmb]

01:41 PM on 10/09/2008

Someone please show me in the constituion where health care is a right. I think we should all have the same health care as congress. I think we should all have cheap fuel, clean drinking water, and football in the summer; these are not rights, they are wants.

[koluidj]

08:13 AM on 10/09/2008

After the second debate McCain passed the nerves! In recent interviews about debates it appear that he does not believe in their victory - http://tinyurl.com/45dhuw!!
Highly recommended!

[klausrum]

06:08 AM on 10/09/2008

Watch this:http://tinyurl.com/3ghezy McCain lose!
Obama won on second debate!

[yankee452]

09:14 PM on 10/08/2008

That was the moment of the campaign for me so far....

[ed365]

02:18 PM on 10/08/2008

This was an interesting question. From a populist standpoint the answer must be "right", however, I have read the U.S. Constitution and I don't think healthcare is listed. You know if it were a right, it would be listed there. It is, however, the responsibility to provide access to good healthcare to all Americans. this will be terribly unpopular, but it is true....our rights come from that document, and that document only.

[milurOH]

04:21 PM on 10/08/2008

it also didn't use to say that women could vote. hint: it says that now.

[kissmygrits]

04:50 PM on 10/08/2008

life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.... life comes first...

[eejmb]

01:26 PM on 10/09/2008

that is an ignorant statement. Life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness is in the Declaration of Independence and not the U.S. constitution. The DOI was a letter written to a king, it does not provide you with any rights.
People can scramble the meaning of words as much as they want....health care is not a Right given to us citizen by our goverment.

[jymfrancais]

01:57 PM on 10/08/2008

Where i'm from ( Europe) if "They" would even try to touch Gvt Health care,
There would be 50 millions people on the street ,marching to l'Elysee.

[MJJM]

10:33 AM on 10/08/2008

Someone needs to say that McCain contradicted himself big time yesterday!!

He said that he was going to freeze all spending when he becomes President. Then he said that he was going to buy up all the bad mortgages when he becomes President. THIS IS A BIG CONTRADICTION!!

[ValentinoRossi]

10:33 AM on 10/08/2008

This was the defining moment in the debate. Most of the other things we've heard a zillion times already. I could not believe McCain suckered himself like that. Health care a "responsibility"? What the hell does that even mean?

I guess if you're an 80+ year old who's unable to care for him/herself or can no longer make serious life decisions you deserve whatever problems you get. Hey, it's your "responsibilty" old-timer; don't make me have to deal with you!

R's are so absolutely scared to death that government might actually help its own citizens that they would rather see people wasting away in the streets than risk (egad, man!) BIG GOVERNMENT! Republican is the short way of saying "anarchists who want to fund a military and set up a morality police".

Frankly, I don't give a hoot about big government, small government or any of that BS. I just want GOOD government.

[AgeofReason]

11:21 AM on 10/08/2008

And whose responsibility is it supposed to be? Employers'? Employees'? Government'? Individuals'? That made NO sense!

[cosmo86]

10:26 AM on 10/08/2008

McCain is out of touch with health care. First of all, it cost my sister $1400.00 per month to insure her family. That is $16,800.00 per year. Many middle class people don't make much more than that. Needless to say, but she could not afford that for long and got a job working at our county courthouse to save on the cost. So where would a $5000.00 tax credit help? Also, most jobs don't offer health care much less any other benefits anymore. My husband and I are in trades and we get no bennies. I have diabetes and as I looked around for health care, I found that most would not even write a policy for me. The ones , and only a few that would were high cost and would not pay anything towards my pre-existing condition for a year. So, that leads me to not being able to get insured because I can't afford the meds, doctors and labs while I pay on an insurance policy. So, I am uninsured!

[majorteddy]

10:13 AM on 10/08/2008

Hurrah for Obama on this one!

[nellie]

10:04 AM on 10/08/2008

It was so gratifying to see Barack declare unambiguously that healthcare is a right. We're so used to hearing conservatives argue that quality of life should correlate with income level, we've been getting that argument for such a long time, I wasn't sure how Obama would answer. But he didn't equivocate. He just stated it plainly. And then gave very compelling support for his answer.

[bygollymissmolly]

09:52 AM on 10/08/2008

Every industrialized nation on this earth think of health care as a right and not a privilege, except of course, the USA. I find that amazing. We are supposed to be the "greatest nation on the earth" and yet we allow millions of our citizens to die every year because they did not have access to health care.

Dennis Kucinich proved that it will be cheaper for this country to have a government-run single payer health insurance system than our current for-profit system. We could immediately put everyone on Medicare and have single payer health over night. But, we would have to fix Medicare before we do that because Bush has played "starve the beast" for eight years and today most doctors won't take a Medicare patient.

[Diplomacy]

09:49 AM on 10/08/2008

Barack Obama is fundamentally right on that one! Health Care is a RIGHT.

It is inexcusable that 47 Million Americans have NO Health Care. It is an embarrassment! The excuse? There is no money!

Solution: Manufacture a few less BOMBS and put the money towards Health Care.

[cunuckistan]

10:04 AM on 10/08/2008

Hi Folks

As a concerned Canadian closely watching your situation, I just wanted to make a couple of comments.

As I'm sure most of you know, Canadians view health care as a right, call it socialized if you will, but it actually works pretty well. Since everyone has a stake in the health of the nation, (i.e. we pay for it), it is much easier to work on the prevention side, catching things early, modify lifestyles, etc.

I have a few niggles about wait times for some things, no system is going to be perfect, but I can assure you, if you are seriously ill, nobody will be asking you about how much money you have, you will get nothing but the best and most compassionate medical that can be had when you need and as much as you need. I contrast my mothers situation with Barrak's, despite being desperately ill the "system" cared for her every need and prolonged her life as much as possible until she died in dignity and acceptance (she actually asked for the care and treatments to stop as she knew it was beyond hope and was ready to die).

We have had health care as a right as long as I can remember, any govt, that proposed taking it away would be defeated and drummed from the country in humiliation.

I wish you all the luck, I am rooting for O and B from here (as most of us are)

[Pupadup4oBama]

10:23 AM on 10/08/2008

Ah....that word socialized - something the neocons HATE. I don't understand why it's become a bad word...these are their three bad words

Communism, socialism and liberalism

Personally - I think racism, sexism and fascism are much worse.

[jean1]

09:48 AM on 10/08/2008

i have to add that health care SHOULD be right. many reasons why are already listed. we need to add: get the entire process of billing, prevention, approval, profits/lobbyists of insurance companies fixed now. ENOUGH!

i would add the area of stem cell research NEEDS to be used to benefit patients as my 8 yr old granddaughter who has her 3rd open heart surgery today at 3 pm. When she had the first one at 11 months (just happened she was born with 4 things that needed to be fixed) the nurse said, 'hopefully when she has to have the next surgery, the patch will be HER own cells grown for that purpose'. She grew so fast the second surgery was two yrs ago. Guess what? NOT her own cells used. A staph infection has grown on the replaced valve and entire surgery has to be done over. I haven't asked IF her cells will be grown and used for the repair. HOW IN GOD's NAME can we let this happen? The cost of multiple surgeries, the trauma to her and everyone she knows, etc. That is inhumane. Political decisions at OUR expense, people! If you read this and have similar situation with family or friend, write, call your legislators... with thanks!