The Office of Public Witness joins 40
Faith Organizations in signing a letter urging that any change, repeal or
repair of the ACA must be comprehensive and meet our 10 priorities for a
faithful healthcare system.
These principles include preserving the
coverage gains made by the ACA, upholding the purpose of Medicaid by refraining
from structural funding changes, maintaining the essential health benefits
currently provided by the ACA, and preventing insurance companies from discrimination
against women, the elderly, and people in poverty. The letter can be viewed in
full online.
The draft House bill revealed yesterday, entitled the American Health Care Act will substantially reduce the Affordable Care Act subsidies that helped
millions afford health insurance and end the Medicaid expansion that extended
health coverage to millions more. It also ends Medicaid as people in
America now know it, saddling states with new health care costs by creating
per-capita caps[2].
The proposal also defunds Planned
Parenthood. It must be noted that it is
illegal for government money to be used for abortions. Therefore, arguments on
Capitol Hill, state legislatures and local municipalities are morally based
rather than directly related to the utilization of government funds for
abortions. At the center of the debate is discontinuing government
contracts for Planned Parenthood as a service provider for poor people.
Furthermore, all of ACA’s taxes are
repealed, which amounts to an enormous tax cut
for the wealthy — at least $346 billion over 10 years with every cent going to
taxpayers earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for couples). It also will
exacerbate the fiscal problems of Medicare, by hastening the exhaustion of the
program’s trust fund by four years, to 2025.[3]
Isaiah speaks God’s word to say “No more
shall there be … an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does
not live out a lifetime” (Isa. 65:20a).
We, as Reformed Christians, bear witness
to Jesus Christ in word, but also in deed.
As followers of our Great Physician
Jesus, we have a moral imperative to work to assure that everyone has full
access to health care[1].
The
call for people of faith to care and provide for those whose lives are scarred
by poverty and illness is a mandatory call. Christians are called to feed the
hungry and provide for the sick. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan
wherein a stranger, an enemy of the injured man, provided for his care out of
his personal resources. Muslims are called to visit the sick as a part of their
healing. The Jewish faith has a scriptural mandate to provide hospitality and
care for the sick required of both laity and clergy.
We
are faced with a repeal based upon reasons which are not moral, ethical nor
right; rather strictly political. The American Health Care Act is an
unnecessary replacement for a law that has increased by over 20 million those
who have health care coverage. What we have before us is a refusal to do what
is best for millions who are having to make difficult choices when deciding
whether to feed their family or health care. We stand and speak in support of
the Affordable Care Act as a sign of our witness to the love of God for all
people, especially those struggling under the crushing weight of poverty.
[1] On Supporting
Single Payer Universal Healthcare Reform
Approved by
the 218th General Assembly (2008)
[2]
http://familiesusa.org/press-release/2017/house-aca-replacement-plan-revealed-would-slash-coverage-and-ration-care-millions
[3]
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-obamacare-repeal-20170306-story.html
