[Eric Lee]

On ‘the right to be as healthy as possible’ add ‘responsibility’ to live in balance with other life on the planet among other responsibilities. Healthy people are high fertility people and combined with our ability to provide death control, we have to factor in fertility control, but that is obvious. Maximizing healthcare within limits is one goal among others. Most of us do not have access to a healthcare system, but to a sickcare system. We live fast and free until issues arise then demand treatment, and the sickcare system loves to provide aggressive expensive treatment (i.e. profitable).

A healthcare system would focus on preventative and palliative care with treatment as the fallback position if appropriate, available, affordable, but not as a right. A liver transplant for an alcoholic is not reasonable. Most Americans die secondary to effects of ‘activity intolerance’ made possible my ‘labor saving’ or rather movement saving devices that we have been oversold on.

Death with dignity and minimal pain is reasonable and achievable. As we “health care” providers know, we don’t heal, we help bodies heal themselves by and large and only rarely save a life (I was an ER RN). Patient education comes first, costs less, and is primary, then comes prevention and palliative care. Sickcare treatment is not, though it is nice to provide if reasonably possible. I don’t expect ‘the system’ to extend my life by a few days or months at any cost even if I were an elite and could afford it. In an affordable healthcare system, a reasonable level of basic care can and should be provided to all citizens along with fertility control as a package deal.

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