After my last entry some
Christian friends for whom I have an immense amount of respect challenged me on
my views surrounding Obamacare considering the threat it brings to the unborn.
The very helpful articles
they pointed out to me can be found at the following links:
I'm very much aware of this awful predicament and really can’t see a way round it that is easy. However, below I have tried
to answer, or at least give my opinion, on the issues the links raised:
Sadly I'm all too aware of
the abortion issue and the affect it could have on Christian employers and
frankly it scares me, especially when you think where it could lead in the
future. Any system based on a state level would allow for variation within the
country (and would be better for many other reasons, including financial - yay
states-rights!). A nationwide move that is top down is always going to work
badly for those who don't share values with the 'top'. I can only suggest we pray
for those who need help.
However I would add that the
real problem is that the church dropped the ball, especially in the US where
church hospitals are common. If Christians had continued to provide healthcare
(and taken on other things e.g old people's homes) free at the point of need
rather than surrender that to the state then these issues simply wouldn't
exist. Needless to say that is also true of other religious groups AND if put
into practice it would have bypassed any issues over church-state separation
that the US rightly has in its Constitution. However I can't pop in a time
machine and solve that so we are left where we are today.
Ultimately, if Obamacare ends
up actually working, millions of Americans will be covered for accidents and
emergencies that they don't currently have cover for. Others will be helped out
of drug dependency and addiction, which will in turn help them get to work and
therefore boost the economy. Still more will be able to receive help that was
denied to them through loopholes in Medicare (for the elderly) and Medicaid
(for those on low incomes and especially those below the poverty line).
To me it is staggering that THE
world superpower doesn’t have these basic rights sorted out and that its health
system is such a mess. And, sadly, the US system is terrible. The US has the
highest perinatal death rate amongst all developed nations. It also has the
highest male mortality rate amongst developed nations. It is close to top in
death tables (not panels) for deaths caused by diet and respiratory problems
and US citizens are near the top of tables for deaths from problems such as heart
disease, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
The reasons for these
problems are diverse (obesity could be helped by not selling Cokes at baseball
games that are so big you are worried you might drown in them) but one solution
is very clear – standardised medical coverage that is supported by a regulated
system of insurance. Business Insider used WHO stats to analyse the US health
system compared to others and concluded by saying: “nearly all these advanced countries, which provide better health care
outcomes at a lower per capita cost, have a system of universal health care in
place”. The US doesn’t and its poorer citizens suffer immensely.
I personally wouldn’t use the
Obamacare system but there is no way the US can get rid of their health
insurance magnates as they are too involved in the political system, so they
have to develop a system around them. Again I would prefer a state system but
Obama is big government and so you get a federal solution, which leads to
Obamacare.
So that’s (part of) why I
tolerate it (initially I typed “welcome” but I’ve realised while re-reading
this that that would be far too generous). It isn’t perfect, it isn’t how I
would do it and in some ways it terrifies me but it will help people and it
will save lives given time.
Debate warmly encouraged
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