Human Right to Health ProGRAM

NESRI’s Human Right to Health Program works with health advocates to develop a human rights approach to protecting health and ensuring access to adequate health care for all people in the United States. Human rights offer a framework for promoting health policies rooted in a commitment to prioritizing the well-being of people over profits.  Furthermore, the language and principles of human rights provide popular and accessible messaging and tools for community empowerment. 

The Human Right to Health Program currently focuses on advancing a human rights approach for reforming the systems for financing and delivering health care.  This includes the private and public health insurance sector and state-based systems that serve as gatekeepers to health services and benefits, such as the workers’ compensation system.  The program works with community partners and other health advocates to generate human rights documentation, analysis, advocacy, public education materials, and workshops.

Right to health care activists protest outside the Obama Regional Health Care Summit in Burlington, Vermont. >>>

For more information on program activities >>>

SPEAKING OUT FOR OUR HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE

New Podcast and Slide Show:
In May NESRI released a podcast and slide show documenting the Vermont Workers' Center May Day 2009 Healthcare is a Human Right Rally. To view the podcast and slideshow >>>

New Videos Series:
Montana Voices for Health Care as a Human Right
A series of short videos featuring Montana residents talking about their experiences in the healthcare system. NESRI, along with the Montana Human Rights Network and WEEL Empowers partnered with Creative Counsel and their 1000 Voices Archive to create this video series highlighting stories about the human right to health in Montana. >>>

Montana human right to health care video featured on Grit TV
On Human Rights Day, December 10, Laura Flanders discussed the human right to health care with Blanche Wiesen Cook and Cathy Albisa, and screened the video of Mary Caferro talking about her experiences as a health and human rights advocate. >>>

New Report and Video:
Vermont Workers’ Center releases “Voices of the Vermont Healthcare Crisis: The Human Right to Healthcare”
The Vermont Workers’ Center published a health care report and video featuring testimony on the human right to health care. For more information on the Vermont campaign >>>

PUBLICATIONS

A Human RIghts Assessment of Single Payer Plans - Toward the Human Right to Health Care: The Contributions of Single Payer Proposals
This report, released May 2009, is an in-depth analysis of four single-payer bills that are currently in the U.S. Congress and State Legislatures. The assessment measures the bills against human rights standards, and shows that single-payer plans are superior to market-based proposals because they go further towards creating a system that is universal, equitable and accountable to the people. Read the assessment >>> Read the press release >>> Read a summary that explains the “single payer” approach and how it can contribute to realizing our human right to health care >>> Read a summary that analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of two key single payer bills >>> Read the accompanying resource kit >>>

Ten Human Rights Principles for Financing Health Care
These ten principles were produced by NESRI’s Human Right to Health Program, run jointly with the National Health Law Program. The principles, released March 2009, set down markers for health care reformers to help them meet human rights standards. Taken together they provide a framework for realizing the goal of a healthy society in a financially sustainable way. Read the press release here >>> Download the principles here >>> (longer version) or here >>> (shorter version).

Embedding the Human Right to Health Care in U.S. State Constitutions: A Progress Review and Lessons for Advocate
A working document prepared by Kathrin Rüegg for the Human Right to Health Program, released February 2009 >>> (For an example of a constitutional right to health care amendment, see this bill introduced on February 16 in Montana >>>)

“From Private Profits to Public Goods? A Human Rights Assessment of Health Care Reform Plans”
An article by NESRI Health Program Director Anja Rudiger, released January 2009 >>>

The above article is an updated and revised version of the following piece, which was published by the The Health and Human Rights Journal at Harvard’s School of Public Health in June 2008.

"From Market Competition to Solidarity? Assessing the Prospects of U.S. Health Care Reform Plans from a Human Rights Perspective" >>>

Human Right to Health Care: Nominees' Plans Lag Behind Public Demands
A report released by NESRI and NHELP on August 20, 2008.
Press Release >>>
Human Rights Assessment >>>

Pursuing A New Vision for Health Care: A Human Rights Assessment of the Presidential Candidates' Proposals
A report released by NESRI and NHELP in January 2008 >>>

HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTH PROGRAM INITIATIVES

Human Right to Health Care Coalition
NESRI works in coalition with Amnesty International, the Opportunity Agenda, and the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) to advocate for health care reform based on human rights. On March 28, 2009, the coalition launched a petition urging elected officials to treat health care as a human right, not a commodity. Sign the short version of the petition >>> Download the full version of the petition >>> Download the principles >>>

Human Right to Health Capacity Building Collaborative
NESRI, along with the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) is an anchor organization for the Human Right to Health Capacity Building Collaborative.  Other collaborative members include the FXB Center on Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health, Ipas, the Opportunity Agenda, and the Human Rights Implementation Project. The collaborative is developing tools and training materials geared to support local organizations seeking to reform health care in their state. We work with Creative Counsel, through their 1000 Voices Archive project (www.1000VoicesArchive.org), to create multi-media tools for human rights advocacy.

The Human Rights of Workers with Injuries Project
The Human Right to Health Program partners with workers with injuries in upstate New York to advocate for reform of the workers’ compensation system in New York State.  NESRI is producing a human rights report that will document the procedural, financing and administrative crisis within the workers' compensation system, which frequently results in inadequate, delayed or denied care and benefits for legitimate occupational injuries. The report will also detail the impact of these problems on the health and well-being of workers, and assess the prospects of reforming the system in a way that protects human rights.

BASIC INFORMATION ON THE RIGHT TO HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE

Everyone has a fundamental human right to health, which includes access to health care. It is the government’s obligation to guarantee that everyone can exercise their rights. Human rights standards emphasize that the protection of health, not financial gains or any other factor, is the primary purpose of a health care system, and insist on universality, equity and private sector accountability to the health care needs of the whole population. For more information on the Human Right to Health and Health Care, click >>>