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
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
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