Drew Ramsey, MD: Is healthcare a fundamental human right? Here at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Conference, I was surprised to learn that the United States is the only high-income country that does not make healthcare an essential right. However, a bill is afoot that may change that. I caught up with Dr Eliot Sorel, who's spearheading a movement to help make healthcare a fundamental human right.
Dr Sorel, there's been movement in the APA to help make healthcare a fundamental human right. Can you give us an update on this project?
Eliot Sorel, MD: Yes. The latest in this project is that the APA Assembly considered this past Sunday, May 21, the first action paper on "Healthcare Is a Human Right." The paper was evaluated and reviewed by a reference committee that edited slightly the paper to read that healthcare, inclusive of mental healthcare, is a human right. That edit was catalytic to a robust debate in the APA Assembly. The debate centered around the insertion of mental health in the topic.
Some colleagues think that the insertion of mental health is an act of self-deprecation—of being biased against ourselves, stigmatizing ourselves by including mental health in the content.
COMMENTARY
Should Healthcare Be a Human Right?
Drew Ramsey, MD
DisclosuresJuly 10, 2017
Drew Ramsey, MD: Is healthcare a fundamental human right? Here at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Conference, I was surprised to learn that the United States is the only high-income country that does not make healthcare an essential right. However, a bill is afoot that may change that. I caught up with Dr Eliot Sorel, who's spearheading a movement to help make healthcare a fundamental human right.
Dr Sorel, there's been movement in the APA to help make healthcare a fundamental human right. Can you give us an update on this project?
Eliot Sorel, MD: Yes. The latest in this project is that the APA Assembly considered this past Sunday, May 21, the first action paper on "Healthcare Is a Human Right." The paper was evaluated and reviewed by a reference committee that edited slightly the paper to read that healthcare, inclusive of mental healthcare, is a human right. That edit was catalytic to a robust debate in the APA Assembly. The debate centered around the insertion of mental health in the topic.
Some colleagues think that the insertion of mental health is an act of self-deprecation—of being biased against ourselves, stigmatizing ourselves by including mental health in the content.
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Authors and Disclosures
Authors and Disclosures
Author
Drew Ramsey, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York
Disclosure: Drew Ramsey, MD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Serve(d) as a director, officer, partner, employee, advisor, consultant, or trustee for: InterContinental Hotels Group; National Kale Day 501(c)(3)
Received income in an amount equal to or greater than $250 from: Sharecare