What is the Preferable Idea of Justice in Healthcare?

When we talk about “health”, we can understand very different meanings, if we refer to the Italian context, rather than the American one. In Italy, health is a fundamental right, and the healthcare system is a model for making this right concrete. In this paper, we will discuss how the American healthcare system is very different from a philosophical and bioethical point of view. We will try to figure out what reasons can be adduced to argue that “health” is a right and not a commodity like others on the market. This paper focuses on philosophical and bioethical issues related to health and healthcare, analyzed in both the Italian and American contexts. Emphasis will be given, using bioethical and legal arguments, to both concepts of health as a right and a good, taking into consideration the current economic and social crisis. In particular, the paper analyzes the theoretical models adopted by the two aforementioned countries and highlights fundamental differences between them. Analysis of the best and most fair allocation of resources leads to a proposal for new definitions for “resource” and preferable idea of justice for healthcare.