Timely Talk
A Conversation on Health Care Reform
Political Stalemates, Religious Mandates, and Ethical Impasses
On November 10, 2009, the ICJS presented the second in its Timely Talk series. Entitled "A Conversation on Health Care Reform: Political Stalemates, Religious Mandates, and Ethical Impasses," the program featured Sister Helen Amos, RSM, Executive Chair, Board of Trustees, Mercy Health Services; Senator Benjamin Cardin; and Congressman John Sarbanes. The starting point of the discussion was expressed by T.R. Reid in his book The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care (Penguin, 2009). He notes that before we can unravel the complexities of the public insurance option, rising costs, care limitations ("rationing"), and funding, we must first confront a fundamental moral question: "Should society guarantee health care the way we guarantee the right to think and pray as you like, to get an education, to vote in free elections? Or is medicine a commodity to be bought and sold, a product like a car, a computer, or a camera?"
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All three speakers highlighted the moral imperative to guarantee all Americans access to health care. They also noted that most Americans agree that our health-care system is severely strained, if not broken. Increases in health care expenses are consuming an ever-growing percentage of American incomes, and the economic strains of medical technology, miracle drugs, and well-equipped hospitals are compounding the challenge. In the meantime, the disparity in care between rich and poor raises serious moral issues that our nation needs to address.
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The speakers also underscored the broad consensus regarding the imperative to repair, if not rebuild, our health care system, but noted the considerable debate that still animates the discussion about the measures required to implement a workable strategy. All three speakers expressed alarm at the ways in which the debate has polarized and fragmented our society. They worry that the polemical tactics of utilizing fear and misinformation present a serious impediment to constructive engagement. Lamentably, the practice of demonizing the "other" is all too familiar to people who have studied the history of religious conflict. While each of the speakers set a hopeful tone, they share the concern that until and unless political leaders with competing political agendas can find common moral cause and open themselves to the insights that emanate from the other side of the congressional aisle, the prospects for passing sensible and comprehensive legislation will remain bleak.
The assembled audience raised questions and offered observations that reinforced the conviction that we are all in this together. The evening closed with an acknowledgement that health care reform presents our nation with the rare opportunity to correct serious injustices and embody the widely shared religious value of compassion.
