The debate is hot. Do we need universal healthcare? Intuitively, most Americans simply say “yes”. It just feels wrong to deprive fellow human beings from basic medical care. But many also see the dangers of introducing a socialized healthcare system and point out the failing systems of other countries that tried to walk down that road.

When I title this article with “universal healthcare is not a choice”, I mean it before all as a factual statement. We, in fact, already have universal healthcare. Everyone who is in urgent need of medical treatment gets it. No one is declined treatment in the Emergency rooms of America. The treatments of the uninsured generate costs of over 200 billion USD every year. And of course, the taxpayer pays the bill.

Is this wrong? Should we deny the uninsured access to basic medical treatment? Should people who are too poor or too stupid to get health insurance coverage die? The answer was, is and always will be: no.

As a civilized and wealthy nation, we cannot let people die who can be easily saved, just because it costs a few bucks. And both your individual opinion as well as mine wouldn’t matter in case they were different. The majority of people will simply not accept medical support that is restricted to certain people. This realization is of great importance, because it points out the key difference between healthcare and other products: healthcare is fundamentally different. Because it is not voluntary. While we normally can decide what we buy and what not, we cannot decide whether we want healthcare or not. Because when we need it, the psychological predisposition of our fellow humans forces them to provide us with it. We are in this together.

The bottom line: universal healthcare is not a choice, but a necessity – and we already have universal healthcare. The question is not if we need it, but how we make it more effective.

Rule#1: Universal Healthcare is not a choice, because healthcare is not a voluntary product. If someone needs it, human nature dictates he will get it regardless of his purchasing power.