Balancing health care and my Christian faith

We are in another election cycle and some subjects reappear. High on the list is quality health care for all Americans. I checked on what I have written in the past. What follows is a rewrite of a column I did some years ago.

My first and highest commitment is to my God. With heart, mind and soul I call Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, Lord and Savior. I worship with like-minded believers every Sunday. I read and study the Bible as a source for my moral imperatives. I take my faith and convictions with me everywhere I go and to every discussion I enter. Ethically, I am driven by two non-negotiable principles: I am my brother’s keeper, and I will love my neighbor as if he were a member of my household.

For the last 25 years of his life, my father received his health care through Medicare, the federal program that was put in place in 1965. He received excellent health care in facilities that he chose and by doctors that he chose.

For the past 22 years, I have received my health care through the same Medicare system. I have chosen my own doctors, health care facilities and pharmacy. I have purchased Medicare supplement insurance from a company of my own choosing. My wife enjoys the same health care security through the same programs.

I have absolutely no complaint about the operation of the system. Considering its size, Medicare is an incredibly efficient and effective program. Through a deduction from our Social Security checks, my wife and I pay a portion of our medical expense. Under Medicare and other federal health programs, our government pays about 40 percent of all medical costs in the United States. It is a system that is working very well.

As a religious person, I am thankful for the health care that my wife and I enjoy. However, I am troubled. Not all Americans enjoy the same health care security that we do. I cannot live with full comfort until all my American brothers and sisters enjoy the same health care that I receive. When viewing health care in America, I cannot leave my faith commitments behind. I am my brother’s keeper. This is the moral imperative that I bring to the discussion about universal health care.

I really do not care what a lot of the particulars of a quality health care system might be. I simply want every American, including illegal immigrants, to receive the same quality health care that I enjoy. Any proposal that makes pawns out of vulnerable people is unacceptable.

Over the years, Americans have decided that we have certain collective responsibilities for the common good. There is a long list of things that we best do together. Consider this partial list: roads, airports, air traffic control, public schools, universities, libraries, public sanitation, garbage collection and disposal, water, police, the U.S. military, social security, fire departments and parks. The new challenge that faces us is very real.

Should all Americans have affordable health care? Argue the details, tweak the systems, but once and for all we Americans need to be committed to quality health care for all with the same commitment that we have toward building roads and schools and maintaining a military.

The naysayers cry “but we cannot afford it!” My response is that it is not a question of money, but of values. The discussion goes back to our attitude toward our sisters, brothers and neighbors.

When I hear the “but we cannot afford it” line, I am reminded of the scene from the old “Boys Town” movie in which Spencer Tracy plays the role of Father Flanagan. A young boy walks into Boys Town carrying a small child on his back. Father Flanagan asks if the little boy is heavy. The response was profound. “Naw, he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.”

I have long had some arthritis in my knees, but I could still walk without significant discomfort. The arthritis has caught up with my right knee and X-rays show that the cartilage is completely gone. The doctor told me I was a strong candidate for knee replacement surgery, and I have finally said OK. It will happen in November. I will receive excellent care. Medicare and my Medicare supplement insurance will pay for the entire procedure. Once again I will walk without pain. I will walk up and down stairs and again push my lawnmower.

The medical privileges that I enjoy, I want for everyone. Any plan that does not provide for all is unacceptable.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

Opinions expressed on the Faith page are the author’s and are not necessarily those of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, its staff or its parent company, Wick Communications Co. To submit a column or other news for the Faith page, send email to news@frontiersman.com, or call 352-2268.