Health care reform on the horizon
House Democrats unveiled health care reform legislation yesterday, and both Pres. Obama and Rep. Henry Waxman have called on Congress to pass a bill before summer recess, even suggesting that the August break be postponed if necessary. (Bill text here.)
While watching interest groups’ strategies unfold, I’ve come to the conclusion that health care reform will be as effective as we demand or as hollow as we allow it to be. There’s a great onus on advocates for reform to continually pressure their Members of Congress to make sure we can all access and afford quality healthcare. This of course extends to local faith leaders who are already making a difference.
Nate Silver had a post yesterday that shone a light on a particular slice of Congress: Democrats (including numerous members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition) from districts that voted for McCain and have higher-than-average percentages of uninsured people. In other words, legislators who must balance major human needs with ideological and political demands. For example, 24% of my former Congressman Marion Berry’s (Blue Dog, AR) constituents are uninsured, premiums rose almost six times as much as income from 2000–2007 statewide, so the insured are squeezed as well. For many Members of Congress, supporting robust health care reform involves political risk, of which they are no doubt aware. But their constituents need health care reform, not to mention the fact that meaningful reform, with a strong public option, seems like not only a moral choice, but also a fiscally prudent one.
When it comes to life-and-death matters such as health care, political calculations shouldn’t be the basis of decision. That’s why it’s so important that faith leaders to keep reminding their Members of Congress (and their religious communities) of the moral dimensions of Congress’s critical decisions on health care reform.