Maine LD 590: Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Establish a Right to Health Care

My name is Daniel C. Bryant, MD. During my career, patients of mine have dropped out of care or declined referrals or tests because they had no, or inadequate health care coverage; and I’ve seen others in the Emergency Room who couldn’t afford critical follow-up care. Experiences like these compel me to offer the following testimony in support of LD 590.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including… medical care” and the World Health Organization Constitution states that “Governments have a responsibility for the health of their peoples.” Yet, “the United States has no formally codified right to health, nor does it participate in a human rights treaty that specifies a right to health.”