August 20, 2009

Dear friends,
 What’s missing?

In last week’s Dear Friends, I expressed my hope that we could have a civil conversation about health care reform. This is a complicated public policy issue, and I would not pretend to have expertise sufficient to say which of the options before us is preferred, but this much I know. The current system is not sustainable. Let me give you one example, close to home.

Central Christian has a long history of providing health care coverage as a benefit for its full time employees. We engage the services of an insurance broker to research all of our options with different carriers every year. When we met with him this past week, we were informed that because of unordinary circumstances our premium for the coming year would increase by 30% if we stayed with our current plan. Granted, that is an unusually high annual increase, but increases of 10% to 15% have not been unheard of over the last decade. Fortunately, we have good people at work on the issue, and we will present a much more reasonable and affordable solution to the Personnel Committee next week.

Understand that spiraling health care costs has had a significant impact on many congregations. Some smaller churches have had to go from a full time person in ministry to part time. Larger congregations have seen reductions in full time staff. Health care costs affects everyone’s bottom line.

And so what is the solution? It seems to me that there are certain fundamental principles that should drive the conversation. First, the system should be fair to providers. I am lucky enough to have the world’s best primary care physician. With nothing more than a stethoscope and his well trained ear, he saved me from a significant health crisis several years ago. I want him and all who saw me through that interesting time to be fairly compensated for their expertise and training.

Second, I want a system that encourages us to take care of our bodies. The epidemic that I am really concerned about is not H1N1. It is obesity. The Fellowship Center was packed several years ago when Stephanie Paulsell talked to us about honoring the body as a Christian practice. Maybe its time to have Stephanie back.

And third, and this is what is missing from much of the debate, I want to hear a civil conversation about a health care system that is based on compassion. I want to hear, especially from those who are spewing all of this anger and fear, about how we create a society which cares for all of its citizens. When the People of the United States decided to form a "more perfect Union," they were concerned to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity."

Now I do not know what the framers of the constitution had in mind when they talked about "the general Welfare," but it seems to me that they might be saying that if the Union is to be "more perfect," we are going to have to be concerned about the welfare of others, not just our own. I want to hear how that fundamental principle affects our nation’s system of health care. And I want to hear that, not just because I am an American. I want to hear that because of the One we try to follow.