A Press Conference statement
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 — 12 noon — Binghamton
(The Rev.) Gary Doupe
The health and well-being of the community has always been of central concern to religion. The Torah took shape around the story of God’s liberating act in freeing Israel from oppression in Egypt. When Israel escaped slavery, the healing of infirmities continued to be vital. Today’s symbol of the medical establishment—a snake wrapped around a pole—refers to the Torah story (Book of Numbers 21) where the Israelites in the wilderness pray for relief from lethal snakebites. Looking at a bronze image of a snake confronted fear and annulled the poison.
Healing stories about Jesus, in the Christian gospels, identify him as life-giver and servant of all oppressed. One of the marks of the church has been to follow the Master, bringing health and healing to all in need.
As people of faith, and as American citizens, we are now at a place of decision about health insurance. Will access to care remain as a profit-making business, or will we treat health insurance as a public necessity—not only for seniors, veterans, children and the disabled, but for ALL?
Our society has chosen not to ignore victims of accidents or violence lying on our streets, but provides ambulances and emergency care. We know that if neighbors with communicable diseases are not treated, that is an issue not only for the sick, but for all of us. Health care is not an elective service. When sudden illness or injury comes, there is no time or mechanism for comparison shopping. To be effective, health care must be provided to all. The problem is cost. Caring is expensive, and most of us cannot afford unexpected burdens out-of-pocket. But as a society we can manage the cost, especially if we simplify the social system.
To address rampant poverty among the elderly, our country devised Social Security and Medicare. These programs have been incredibly successful. We finance them with payroll taxes and reap the benefits in our retirement years. Medicare and Medicaid already provide funding for a large share of our total medical expenses—not only for the elderly, but also for the disabled and for lower-income families. Including all of society within a single program of health insurance would allow us to eliminate the plethora of plans and paperwork, eliminate competitive advertising and profit-making, eliminate princely-paid insurance CEOs, and negotiate reimbursement for services through a single insurer. It could also help us promote healthy living practices and extend early diagnostic care, further lowering costs.
By implementing Medicare for all U.S. residents, equitable taxes would replace medical insurance bills. Most families and corporations would pay less than they now pay for insurance. The savings achieved under a common plan would offset a significant amount of the cost of bringing working families into the plan. No one would be left out. No one would go bankrupt because of their medical condition. No one would have to choose between eating and getting treatment. No family would have to solicit neighbors for assistance during a major health crisis.
The time for comprehensive health insurance is long past due. Profit-making firms have continually sowed fear among the populace that Medicare for All would never work, yet similar programs work well throughout most of the developed world. This is a choice that will serve us well.