U.S. Health Care Reform as a Means to Realize the International Human Right to Health

Debates on U.S. Health Care (Jennie Jacobs Kronenfeld, Wendy E. Parmet & Mark A. Zezza, eds.), (Sage, NY), 2012 Forthcoming

36 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2012 Last revised: 7 Jul 2012

See all articles by Benjamin Mason Meier

Benjamin Mason Meier

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharya

Loyola University of Chicago

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

By reengaging longstanding debates on the “moral commitment” of government to secure the health of every American, the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) draws on an internationally recognized conception of a positive human right to health, which asserts a government obligation to realize the “highest attainable standard of physical and mental health” through policies that ensure the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of health care. Such a legal obligation, however, stands in stark contrast to the American tradition of negative rights, a tradition of restraining government infringements on individual liberties without fulfilling positive entitlements. This chapter discusses arguments for and against viewing health care as a human right, assessing the development of a right to health under international law and the implementation of these rights-based norms through U.S. health care policy. As the ACA is challenged and revised in the years to come, opposing views on the international human right to health will play a seminal role in defining the scope and content of government obligations for realizing the highest attainable standard of health for all.

Keywords: Affordable Care Act, Right to Health

Suggested Citation

Meier, Benjamin Mason and Bhattacharya, Dhrubajyoti, U.S. Health Care Reform as a Means to Realize the International Human Right to Health (2012). Debates on U.S. Health Care (Jennie Jacobs Kronenfeld, Wendy E. Parmet & Mark A. Zezza, eds.), (Sage, NY), 2012 Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2095191

Benjamin Mason Meier (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://https://www.benjaminmasonmeier.com/

Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharya

Loyola University of Chicago ( email )

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