This post is meant to bring about a dialogue. Seriously I would hope you would leave comments and help me work through my thoughts.
Our country is seriously considering a national health care policy. It seems that it has come down to a liberal vs. conservative debate, which frankly I think is ridiculous. Politics should not be involved when it comes to our health and getting proper medical care. I am having a hard time understanding why the conservatives of America are in such an uproar over national health care.
I think we would all agree that the cost of health care in America is staggering. I recently had thirty-six radiation treatments for a recurrence of prostate cancer and the bill was around $65,000.00. For many just paying the health insurance monthly premium is a struggle. It is also without question that there are a lot of Americans who do not have proper health care because they cannot afford it. Something has to be done in America to solve the health care costs dilemma we all face.
One of the things that seems to fuel the uproar is fear. For some reason the conservatives in America fear what happens when the government takes over health care. On this point I refer them to the government run Medicaid program. We are raising a grandson, who was born cleft lip and cleft palate. When he was born to our daughter, a single mom, he qualified for Medicaid. Our grandson is ten years old now. Medicaid has been fantastic! He has had the best of medical care with doctors of our choice and neither we nor his mom have ever had to pay a cent. If the proposed national health care is run like Medicaid I see no reason to fear.
Another argument about the fear factor. When a person reaches the age of 65 they automatically go on Medicare, a government run health program. I have yet to hear one senior complain about the health care they receive through Medicare.
The second argument I hear is it will cost too much. The cost is projected to be $1 trillion over a 10 year span. A lot of money I agree. But the projected costs for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is projected to be $2.4 trillion over 10 years. I don’t hear conservatives saying the wars cost too much. To be honest I never thought we should have gone into Iraq to start with and it appears Afghanistan is headed toward another Vietnam. The war thing will wait for another post.
Another argument I hear is that people illegally in the country will be able to get national health care. I say “what’s the big deal about that”? Shouldn’t we as followers of Jesus Christ want every person to be cared for body, soul, and spirit?
Another argument I hear is they are going to pay for national health insurance by cutting Medicare benefits. The cry is this will hurt the senior aged population. Come on now let’s get real. Do you think for one minute the congress and president is going to do something that would be political suicide. The age 65+ voting block is powerful. You go cutting their benefits and come next election you will be voted out. I don’t think the congress and president are that stupid.
For me the real uproar is from doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and health insurance companies who know they will not be able to keep getting rich and richer at the expense of we average Americans if national health care is passed. They are smart enough to realize the conservatives of America are against national health care so they are feeding them with the fear factor, cost factor, and illegal status factor to keep them whipped up into a frenzy opposing so they can continue to get rich and richer.
What is the uproar? When I was a boy growing up I heard the same uproar from conservatives about civil rights? The conservatives were wrong on civil rights! I sensed the same fear over the first ever Catholic president. John F. Kennedy although he didn’t get to serve long didn’t seem to do worse/better than other presidents of my lifetime. What is the uproar? I would love to have dialogue with you, leave your comments.
Here's part of the uproar. I'll openly say I am writing as a politically conservative individual with libertarian leanings, especially when it comes to the role of government in the lives of individuals. First, conservatives are accused of using fear tactics. They are also accused of being uncompassionate. I do not think that any conservative person wants to deny any individual access to needed health care. It's the mechanism by which that will be provided that is under disagreement. That said, I'll address the issues you mention.
ReplyDeleteCost - You are correct. Health care costs are skyrocketing. Have you seen how much of the costs go into paying for the redtape necessary to treat some patients. A local doctor does not accept insurance payments of any type. You must pay the day of the visit and then file with your insurance provider yourself. That doctor's fees are approximately 1/3 lower because he doesn't have to pay for office staff whose only job is to file anad keep up with insurance. My dentist is the same way. Is controlling costs via the government running things the way we want to go? All that will do is create more administrative jobs to facilitate it and ultimately that will lead to either same or higher costs OR reduction in services OR both, the likelier of the options.
Yes, seniors automatically go on Medicare. But that is not always the ONLY option they have. My understanding is that it is usually supplemented by private insurance of some type.
RE: your comments about the cost. True it may cost less than the war, but does that justify doing another wrong thing? Two wrongs don't make a right.
RE: Seniors losing benefits. It does make sense that politicians would want to keep the voting block happy. But most voters don't really know when things are taken away. Plus the CBO (Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan agency) has already examined all the proposals and they have said that not only will there be cost overruns, but services will be cut AND 25 million people will still be uninsured.
RE: insurance companies, doctors, etc. True, no one wants to receive a cut in pay. But how many local doctors are actually rolling in dough vs. still paying high malpractice premiums AND student loans? Are the pharmaceutical companies making a lot of money? Probably. But are economy is based upon a capitalist system. If you stifle businesses' ability to do so, you stifle job growth and every other important indicator of economic health.
RE: coverage for illegal aliens. As Christians we are called to care for everyone mind, body, and soul. We are also called to obey the laws of the country and its leaders as well. Christians can create the necessary advocacy groups and services to help those people become legal residents.
Tacking on the Christian responsibility thread, aren't we also called to be good stewards of our resources? Is it good stewardship to have one bailout after another that we cannot pay for (car companies, banking industry, and now an attempt to take over health care)?
To address your final point, don't forget it was the Dixiecrats who helped fight civil rights reform, not just southern conservatives. A lot of those conservatives who fought against civil rights were RELIGIOUS conservatives that voted both ways.
And yes, politicians ARE that stupid. Most of them haven't read the bill, nor do they understand it. It's just something that is a "feel" good whose costs have not been weighed.
As a conservative, I believe as the our founding fathers penned, that people are born with inalienable rights given to them by God. One of those is self-determination. When the government gets it's hand in things, we begin to slide down the slippery slope that leads to a loss of that determination.
That's it for now. Sorry my reply was longer than your post :-)
Matt, I appreciate your thoughts. You make a lot of good points, and like I said comments from others will help me think through my thoughts on this issue.
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very insightful and for one I appreciate you typing all of that out. I am in complete agreeance with you and I could not have said it better so my comment is not meant to add to anything you have said but instead it is meant to second what you have said and to let you know that you are not alone.
chris g.
Chris, thanks for leaving a comment. Like I said I am still working through my thoughts on the issue.
ReplyDeletePastor Darrell,
ReplyDeleteI think most people know that I am a very open opponent of Obamacare. Like Matt, I consider myself a conservative with libertarian leanings, although I don't call myself a Republican anymore.
The two main reasons I oppose Obamacare (which I think are in addition to what Matt wrote) are as follows:
1) EXPANSION OF GOVERNMENT POWER. Our Founding Fathers had many problems, but one thing they understood was that we live in a world where men tend towards corruption. Powerful men are no exception. This is one of the reason they attempted to set up a limited Federal government. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, even used the three-fold description of God's rule in Isaiah 33:22 as the model for our three-branched Federal government, with each branch checking and balancing the other.
Under our last two Presidents, the expansion of government power has gotten out of control. If the HCB is passed, it will expand government control even more. When governments expand, freedom loses. We are at a point where government needs to reigned in, not let loose. To paraphrase Gerald Ford, the government that can give you everything can take everything away.
2) ABORTION AND EUTHANSIA - Death panels or not, Obama is the most anti-life President in history as evidenced by his three votes for infanticide in the Illinois legislature. The HCG has a loophole which will not be closed by this Congress, and will allow Planned Parenthood to be funded through the bill. It sickens me to my stomach to hear Christians say that abortion should not be a major issue of concern for the Church. The American holocaust has gone on for far too long, and must be stopped. If this bill contributes to the murder of innocent children (which it will), it is something Christians must oppose.
And when it comes to rationing - which no doubt will eventually take place, do we really believe that the elderly will not suffer because of cost-effectiveness?
- Brent Tysinger
Brent, thanks for your comments. I too dislike the expansion of government power. I am opposed to abortion and euthansia, however I don't know tht the health care bill will make any difference.
ReplyDeleteQuestion, What do you propose as the solution to the healthcare crisis in America?
Alright, the Tysinger plan would be:
ReplyDelete1) Start with tax reform. I think our nation should go to a 10% flat-tax or a fair tax. If 10% is good enough for God, it should be more than good enough for Uncle Sam. Appropriate cuts in the government would then need to follow :) Then, with people actually keeping about 20 to 30% more of their money, most could afford basic health care.
2) Enact tort reform. Serious health care reform can't be done without it, but the left is in bed with the trial lawyers, so it won't happen with them in charge. The CBO says that it would save $54 billion over the next decade if tort reform were enacted.
3) Encourage churches and other charities to provide for people who are in need. If people were able to keep more of their money, there would be more giving, and if there was more giving, there would be more at churches' disposal to help those in a pinch. Churches could help people with medicine, hospital bills, etc. (I know we do it now, but we could do it even more, and more efficiently if the government would get its hands out of our members' billfolds).
4) Encourage competition across state lines. Competition is always good to drive prices down.
5) Provide affordable catastrophic coverage for people who don't want full insurance coverage. That way, healthy younger people could afford some insurance without having to buy expensive coverage they don't need.
6) Encourage wellness through programs designed to support weight loss, exercise, and good health habits.
Would my plan work? Not with our current political mindset of spend now and hope someone else works it out later. But with the right leadership, who knows?
Dear Reverend Scruggs,
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of my comment is to help you work through this. Being that you are a pastor of 34 years, I think I should point out to you that you did not use one Scripture in your entire post. What pains me is that you think this is a "liberal vs. conservative" thing.
But, being a man of God, you should know that that is not the case at all. This is a perfect picture of the battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent(Gen. 3:15). This healthcare plan was birthed in the very pits of Hell. Everything about it stinks to high heaven and we need to send it back where it came from.
Like Brent, I am neither a Republican or Democrat. Neither would I claim to be conservative or liberal. No. I am a Christian. And I believe that the only way to fight this (or in your case, come to terms with what it is) is with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of Almighty God.
So, I would encourage, Pastor Scruggs, to turn to the Word of God for the answer. "To the Law and to the Testimony!(Isaiah 8:20)"
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant
Adam, the only scripture you give is Isaiah 8:20 and I see no application of that scripture to the healtb care debate in America.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see someone post a viable alternative to national health care but to date have not.
Brent, I don't see the Tysinger plan working. Don't get where Tort reform will help in this either.
ReplyDeleteActually, Pastor Scruggs, I used Genesis 3:15 as the base of my comment. And Isaiah 8:20 puts a stamp on what I was trying to get you to see: that we don't need to trust in our own intellects and feelings. We need to trust in God and His Word. My comment was four paragraphs long. I could give you many Scriptures, but they would only confirm the same thing I'm trying to get across.
ReplyDeleteI will say this though. The first government that God set up was in Gen. 9:6. He set it up for one reason, to protect life. He instituted capital punishment to keep bullies like Lamech from running around killing whomever they wanted. Therefore, the first government that God set up was based on morality, not economics or healthcare. The problem is, we have changed government into our provider instead of our protector. This healthcare plan is only legitimate to those who think our government has the responsibility to provide for us. For those of us who trust in God's Word, we will stand on the fact that morality far outweighs economics or healthcare, when it comes to government.
If we would learn to take better care of ourselves and learn that it is our responsibility to provide for our families(1 Timothy 5), we would not be demanding our government to swoop down and save us. The church should be the institution to help with healthcare, but only to those who, after doing all they could themselves, simply couldn't afford it. See 1 Timothy 5 for that one too.
You need to look this stuff up. Don't just reason in your mind. Because, as a Pastor, you had better be very careful what you promote. This is very clear, Pastor Scruggs. You need to see this.
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant