This should get interesting pretty quickly!!!
The Obama Administration is getting serious about health care reform. There are several concerns to deal with but the administration is focused on reducing the number of uninsured Americans.
The solution includes taxing employer provided health care benefits. Obama hammered Senator John McCain during the general election for proposing such a heinous idea. It could become law.
I know we're all pretty busy at the moment, but I was hoping that we might see some ideas from the group of biblical principles and theological reflection to guide us in our judgments on this issue. Anybody?
ReplyDeleteThis is such a murky issue. I like to start at the point of LIBERTY. Individuals should have the ability to seek (or avoid) their own health care, should they not? Doctors should have the ability to dispense or withhold healthcare at whatever cost they like, should they not? If we answer "No" then we are back to the use of force, which is not biblical.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably too simplistic a beginning point, but it might provoke some debate, which I invite.
I'm pretty clueless on this, but here's somethings to consider:
ReplyDelete1. God is concerned throughout scripture with the health and healing of people. The rital and dietary laws evince aspects of this.
2. This health is holistic, i.e. it includes spiritual and mental health, not just bodily health.
3. The soverign purpose for prayer, suffering, and caregiving all play a role in this (though I'm not sure how they are all accounted for in daily health care).
4. Tsedakah, the Hebrew concept, can be translated "charity" as easily as it can "justice." This extends to the care of widows and orphans, as well as not leaving the poor without basic shelter and clothing.
5. There is support for medicine in the intertestamental literature, such as Ben Sirach's advice to consult the wisdom of physicians. Paul in the New Testament recommends a basic stomach remedy to Timothy.
6. Jesus' own earthly ministry included the healing of the sick and deliverance from demons.
7. Early Christian churches were known for their care for the sick and dying, especially during plagues that ravaged cities.
8. Later medieval orders ran early hospitals, as did various Protestant and evangelical groups in subsequent church history. These included free and low-cost care for those who could not afford it.
9. Eschatologically, shalom includes the health of persons. Full flourishing cannot be present without this need addressed.
10. At this point, I don't see any compeling reason why the concerns of the king in Psalm 72 with the care of the poor and needy do not include physical health.
This is all pretty basic, I realize, and I'm not addressing the question of taxation and redistribution. Anybody else?
I used to sell health insurance to small business owners. The cost of it made many people decide to self insure. If you have a young family it is very inexpensive to carry catostrophic coverage and leave the doctor vists to out of pocket expenses. This simply means that people are less likely to go to the emergency room for a runny nose. If the government starts programs like this it will just make runny nose patients feel like they are entitled to ER visits. This will impact all of us. Taxing the employer sponsered benefits will cause the employers to drop coverage and force more people to use government provided. How will we ever pay for it?
ReplyDeleteTimothy Porter