The health care debate is about making Jesus' healing spirit a reality in the world. Do we want to follow Jesus? If so, we have a mandate: make it happen! And it must be a good bill which covers all the bases.
In the July 14 issue of The Christian Century, Gary Dorrien addresses the question of what need be part of a "good health care bill". I think he hits the nail on the head. Here is what he says:
A good public plan would be open to all individuals and
employers that want to join. It would allow members to choose
their own doctors. It would eliminate high deductibles. It would
allow members to negotiate reimbursement rates and drug
prices. The government would run it. And it would be
backed up by tough cost controls and a requirement that all
Americans have health coverage.
The profit motive has prevented our nation from providing universal health care. Profit is dependent upon people having the ability to purchase. I think it is fair to expect a fair profit, providing it is fair to ALL. Fortunately, most can afford health care. But many of those who can suffer in other ways by not being able to feed their families adequatly, or pay for their house, or provide for basic human needs. Then there is the deductible, which may bring financial ruin or lesser coverage than needed. But the reality is also that millions cannot afford coverage. They must make a choice: food and necessities, or coverage. Life becomes a throw of the dice. The government needs to be a check and balance on the pursuit of unbridled profits at the expense of the WHOLE. Life in America must be more than a crap shoot.
Following also means following the Constitution. I am sometimes brought to tears when I read our Constitution. The opening phrase: "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union...." The first words, "We the people....". America is about "We", not me first, not profit. Then comes "order". The nation must have order, structure, laws to keep us focused. Then "union". Again, America is about ALL of us, together. The Constitution speaks of "insuring domestic tranquility, and promoting the general welfare" of the people. The Constitution binds us together into a national family, committed to the well being of each other. Creating a self serving anarchy is not the purpose of the Constitution. The Constitution frees us all to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness", guaranteeing individual liberty while simultaneously binding us together for our common good. America is not about survival of the fittest. The Constitution gives us our freedom and our calling as citizens to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity...." It is about "we".
This is where the government plays a vital role. Instead of the government being the big ogre, the nameless, faceless, cold, uncaring bureaucracy, dedicated only to its own preservation for its own sake, the government is mandated to be the voice and action of the people. Lincoln said it so well at Gettysburg: "government of the people, by the people, for the people". We the people need to let the govenment be the arbiter of fairness, because the government is us! Let's be fair for each other!
This health care bill must be well crafted. The time is ripe to close this gap in our compassion. The bill must be a good bill. Our nation needs it and we Christians must demand it!
One of my favorite hymns is: "O Christ, the Healer", ELW-610. One beautiful phrase states our call: "O Christ the healer, we have come to pray for health, to plead for friends..." We are Christ's healing advocates, Christ's hands, Christ's energy.
Peace!
Ron Letnes
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