By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In order to solve our health care problem, the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) is urging American Catholics to look for ways to apply Church teachings to the solution.
In an open letter to Catholics and Catholic organizations, the CMA acknowledges that we are facing a health care problem, but says the solution does not lie in empowering “a small group of unelected government bureaucrats and commits” the power to determine what our treatment options should be.
“We think this government-controlled approach is flawed in principle and ineffective, if not dangerous, in practice,” they write.
The current slate of bills violates the Church’s principle of subsidiarity, which means allowing individuals the opportunity to use their own initiative to solve problems rather than by governmental interference. The bills also reflect an improper respect for human life in the form of providing abortion coverage and end-of-life provisions that are of serious concern, the CMA says.
“We believe there are better approaches to achieving meaningful health-care reform and meeting our common goal of making health-care coverage truly universal and genuinely affordable,” they write.
First, Catholics should advocate for legislation that makes it possible for individuals and families to purchase whatever health insurance meets their needs. This could be achieved by re-assigning the tax deduction for health insurance from employers to individuals, they suggest, and reducing costs by bringing appropriate incentives from the market economy to health insurance monopolies. “Such reforms would address the needs of the great majority of people,” they write.
They also encourage greater individual accountability in health-care spending. “Since 70 percent of health-care spending is for conditions directly influenced by personal behavior, there is considerable potential for improved health and reduced spending by encouraging healthier lifestyles with appropriate financial incentives.”
Finally, before supporting the creation of another large government program, “we should work to reform those already in existence and demonstrating serious difficulty in controlling costs,” such as Medicaid, which needs an extensive overhaul in order to ensure quality care for the poor and just compensation for providers.
“ . . .(W)e call upon all Catholics and Catholic organizations to reaffirm their support for the foundational ethical and social teachings of the Church which provide a framework for authentic health care reform and to unite as one in an uncompromising commitment to defend the sanctity of life and the conscience rights of all providers as essential parts of health-care reform.”
They also call upon Catholics and Catholic organizations to “place a great emphasis on respecting the principle of subsidiarity across the spectrum of issues in health-care financing and delivery during the coming legislative debates.”
Finally, the CMA believes we need to be careful that well-intentioned efforts to bring about “change” are not exploited by a federally controlled system that promises health care for all, “but creates an oppressive bureaucracy hostile to human life and to the integrity of the patient-physician relationship.”
The CMA believes it would be better to forgo health care reform altogether rather than allow a “systemic policy regime that is inimical to respect for life, religious freedom, and the goods served by the principle of subsidiarity.”
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