Beyond taxation, requiring wealthier individuals to pay directly for health services of the less fortunate violates some of the most basic moral rights of personal sovereignty as well as various fundamental constitutional rights of due process and equal protection. However, there are other approaches to equalizing healthcare availability that do not require involuntary financial contribution of some citizens to finance the medical services of others.
One of the most important necessary healthcare reforms is the limitation of healthcare profits attributable to the third-party payment system. Specifically, the evolution...
Therefore, hospitals and other service providers have continually increased their fees knowing that insurers rather than patients will be responsible for payment.
Some of the most effective and morally appropriate ways to redress the situation include: (1) increased
taxation intended to fund healthcare services; (2) government limitation on profit margins derived from medical services and supplies; and (3)
tax, education grants, and other financial incentives designed to motivate increased voluntary charitable contributions that benefit the community by funding essential medical services to the underprivileged. Ultimately, wealthier individual may indeed have a moral duty to help those less fortunate, but not all moral duties are necessarily enforceable by the State, at least, not without violating other equally important moral principles.
