--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have never seen health as a right. It…" description: "\"We have never seen health as a right. It has been conceived as a privilege, available only to those who can afford it. This is the real reason the Amer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/shirley-chisholm-5073_available_we-have-never-seen-health-as-a-right-it_1360048.png" --- # We have never seen health as a right. It has been… ![“We have never seen health as a right. It has been conceived as a privilege, available only to those who can afford it. This is the real reason the American health care system is in such a scandalous state.” quote by Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/shirley-chisholm-5073_available_we-have-never-seen-health-as-a-right-it_1360048.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/shirley-chisholm-5073_available_we-have-never-seen-health-as-a-right-it_1360048.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/shirley-chisholm-5073_available_we-have-never-seen-health-as-a-right-it_1360048.png) > “We have never seen health as a right. It has been conceived as a privilege, available only to those who can afford it. This is the real reason the American health care system is in such a scandalous state.” [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Health is treated as a market commodity rather than a universal entitlement, leading to systemic failures **In simple terms:** Health is seen as a privilege, not a right Key Takeaway Advocate for universal healthcare Themes healthcare policy inequality rights Mood concerned urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - policy reform - community health programs - public advocacy Key Concepts social justice public health economic disparity Questions to Reflect On - How would universal coverage change outcomes? - What barriers prevent policy change? A Different Perspective Market forces limit access for low‑income groups ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-health-697100/) [Available](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Conceived Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceived-privilege-4651539/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Health care system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care-system/) [Health Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-right-277350/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Scandalous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandalous/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [The problem with the American health-care system that it is not working for the American family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/the-problem-with-the-american-health-care-system-that-it-is-not/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [We are driven by the belief that every person in this world matters and access to better health is a right, not a privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-bresch/we-are-driven-by-the-belief-that-every-person-in-this-world-matters/) [Heather Bresch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-bresch/) > [We can never, ever say it enough: every woman - especially every young woman-has to take charge of her health... and do what's right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-wasserman-schultz/we-can-never-ever-say-it-enough-every-woman-especially-every-young/) [Debbie Wasserman Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-wasserman-schultz/) > [I'm Going To Make Available To Every American The Same Health Care Plan That Senators And Congressmen Give Themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-m-going-to-make-available-to-every-american-the-same-health-care/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [What we should be focusing on - and finding solutions for - is ensuring that every American has health care in this country, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-cortez-masto-2/what-we-should-be-focusing-on-and-finding-solutions-for-is-ensuring/) [Catherine Cortez Masto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-cortez-masto-2/) > [The American Health Care Act delivers relief for families by ensuring that you get to choose your coverage and the federal government can't tax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mast/the-american-health-care-act-delivers-relief-for-families-by-ensuring/) [Brian Mast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mast/) > [The answer to the American health crisis is the food that each of us chooses to put in our mouths each day. It's as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-colin-campbell/the-answer-to-the-american-health-crisis-is-the-food-that-each-of-us/) [T. Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-colin-campbell/) > [One issue that affects every American is health care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-braun/one-issue-that-affects-every-american-is-health-care/) [Mike Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-braun/) > [I am for a system of universal health care where every American has health care as a fundamental right because I think that's where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-delaney/i-am-for-a-system-of-universal-health-care-where-every-american-has/) [John Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-delaney/) > [“American Health Insurance Companies have classified pregnancy as an illness, so if pregnancy is an illness was the baby-boom a plague?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayseth-guberman/american-health-insurance-companies-have-classified-pregnancy-as-an/) [Jayseth Guberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayseth-guberman/) > [I've been asked a lot for my view on American health care. Well, 'it would be a good idea,' to quote Gandhi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-farmer/i-ve-been-asked-a-lot-for-my-view-on-american-health-care-well-it/) [Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-farmer/) > [The most devastating indictment of the president's proposal is that it threatens to destroy virtually everything about American health care that's worth preserving. Under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/the-most-devastating-indictment-of-the-president-s-proposal-is-that/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [The American Health Care Act is not perfect, but it is an important step in reforming our broken healthcare system to help families in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-stefanik/the-american-health-care-act-is-not-perfect-but-it-is-an-important/) [Elise Stefanik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-stefanik/) > [It is, I guess, politically correct, widely believed, that to say that American health care is the best in the world. It's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/it-is-i-guess-politically-correct-widely-believed-that-to-say-that/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [As Chairman of the Ways and Means committee, I am proud to have written about half of the American Health Care Act that passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brady/as-chairman-of-the-ways-and-means-committee-i-am-proud-to-have/) [Kevin Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brady/) ## More by Shirley Chisholm > [It is obvious that discrimination exists. Women do not have the opportunities that men do. And women that do not conform to the system,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/it-is-obvious-that-discrimination-exists-women-do-not-have-the/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [Legal discrimination between the sexes is, in almost every instance, founded on outmoded views of society and the pre-scientific beliefs about psychology and physiology.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/legal-discrimination-between-the-sexes-is-in-almost-every-instance/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/tremendous-amounts-of-talent-are-lost-to-our-society-just-because/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/it-is-not-heroin-or-cocaine-that-makes-one-an-addict-it-is-the-need/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [I love America not for what she is, but for what she can become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/i-love-america-not-for-what-she-is-but-for-what-she-can-become/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [I am and always will be a catalyst for change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/i-am-and-always-will-be-a-catalyst-for-change/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [The liberals in the House strongly resemble liberals I have known through the last two decades in the civil rights conflict. When it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/the-liberals-in-the-house-strongly-resemble-liberals-i-have-known/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [I am not antiwhite, because I understand that white people, like black ones, are victims of a racist society. They are products of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/i-am-not-antiwhite-because-i-understand-that-white-people-like-black/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says: It's a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/the-emotional-sexual-and-psychological-stereotyping-of-females-begins/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [I had met far more discrimination because I am a woman than because I am black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/i-had-met-far-more-discrimination-because-i-am-a-woman-than-because-i/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [Some fine men are in Congress, too few, trying to do a responsible job. But they are surrounded and almost neutralized by a greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/some-fine-men-are-in-congress-too-few-trying-to-do-a-responsible-job/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [“Following along the path of her role models, Shirley knew that if she waited for permission, she’d never receive her turn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/following-along-the-path-of-her-role-models-shirley-knew-that-if-she/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [I ran because somebody had to do it first. In this country, everybody is supposed to be able to run for president, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/i-ran-because-somebody-had-to-do-it-first-in-this-country-everybody/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [“The most tragic error into which older people can fall is one that is common among educators and politicians. It is to use youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/the-most-tragic-error-into-which-older-people-can-fall-is-one-that-is/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [I have never cared too much what people say. What I am interested in is what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/i-have-never-cared-too-much-what-people-say-what-i-am-interested-in/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) [Explore all 103 Shirley Chisholm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) ## More Available quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. 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Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I used practically all the money I had available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-ebbers/i-used-practically-all-the-money-i-had-available/) [Bernard Ebbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-ebbers/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. 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I work long hours. I have a dog and a wife. There's not a lot of available time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-in-production-year-round-i-work-long-hours-i-have-a-dog-and-a/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) [Browse all 2,134 Available quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have never seen health as a right. It has been conceived as a privilege, available only to those who can afford it. 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