Ron Paul says healthcare isn't a right. He's correct, technically - the US constitution guarantees no such right. However, unlike Dr Paul, I think healthcare should be a right - at least, some basic level of healthcare.
There are several reasons for this. One is a basic moral imperitive - enshrining such a right would save tens of thousands of lives each year.
Another is that healthcare doesn't work like other goods. I have a choice about whether to buy a new car or a new computer. If I am in need of life-saving healthcare - if my "choice" is to get the healthcare I need, or to die - that isn't really a choice at all. Faced with such a need, my only rational response would be to obtain the healthcare I needed by any means necessary, even if that means using all my savings and selling everything I own. No-one "shops around" for the cheapest cancer treatments - people go to the doctor, get fixed, and then worry about the cost afterwards. Until the bill comes, they probably have no idea how much it's going to cost.
Food and shelter are also essential goods, but they don't bankrupt people like medical bills do (at least in the US) because they are very predictable costs - one isn't going to suddenly find oneself faced with a food bill of hundreds of thousands of dollars due to circumstances beyond one's control. A "basic minimum for survival" level of food is also very cheap (we spend so much on food because we like it to be tasty and interesting as well as nutritious) but healthcare is very expensive because doctors are very highly trained professionals.
Yet another reason is that universal healthcare benefits everyone, even the healthy. Preventitive medicine and quick treatment of disease (as opposed to people avoiding going to the doctor because they can't afford it) means a healthier population overall, less disease, fewer sick days and greater productivity.
One other reason that doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere is peace of mind. Unless you work for a very large corporation, health insurance isn't reliable. Even if you have insurance, you might still be bankrupted by deductibles, copays and coinsurance. If you have an individual insurance plan, your insurance company will look for any excuse to drop you as a customer if you develop a particularly expensive condition - woe betide you if you left an i undotted or a t uncrossed on your application form! If you work for a small company, the insurance company may pressure your employer to fire you (with threat of cripplingly higher rates) if you get too sick. All these add up to worries (and stress) that those who are guaranteed healthcare by their governments simply don't have.