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Re: Christian health care
By: Lori Smith|Published: July 20, 2007 3:19 PM
Topics: Business & Economics, Health & Science, Politics & Government


Allen -- I appreciated L'abrialumn's comments on health care. As a self-employed person responsible for buying my own insurance (and unfortunately having to deal with Lyme disease), I can tell you the entire system is a complete mess. It's insanely expensive and difficult and in the end, the insurance companies are not there to help, but to make money.

One illness at the wrong time could take someone from financial security to bankruptcy. A lot of people think the uninsured are irresponsible, but that's because they don't understand how difficult and incredibly expensive the system is when you have to navigate it on your own.

I think one of the reasons it's been allowed to get into such a state is that insurance generally comes along with a job, and most people don't realize the horrible state of the system because it's taken care of for them. (I know I didn't understand how bad it was until I was on my own, and very sick.)

I don't want universal health care, but I think we need a business genius to step in and create something new and wonderful here. This is America. We're known for creating geniuses! And if Southwest can make an airline profitable, maybe there's hope for health care.

So are there any Christian business men/women/entrepreneurs out there who want to tackle this?


Comments:

I haven't really thought this through but I'll throw it out for discussion's sake. What if you applied the clearing of all debts every 7 years, jubilee, to health care?
Posted By: Anna on July 23, 2007 4:38 AM
Interesting thoughts. The insurance companies for whom the profit motive is the bottom line, have forgotten their calling - to help people in a fallen world balance risk over a period of time, and help their neighbors. Of course making a living while doing so, that too is necessary. But when the money is more important than the people made in the Image of the Living God, for whom Christ died, then you have idolatry. We cannot serve both God and Mammon. God gave us our various callings to serve Him, and each other as well. When we use them to serve Mammon, we are idolaters. Christians need to recover the whole teaching of the Bible, and ponder the thinking that has been done on that for the past 3,500 years since Moses.
Posted By: labrialumn on July 21, 2007 12:00 PM
I feel your pain as a suddenly non-corporate type. I read this opinion piece by John Stossel yesterday and appreciated his usual honesty about the subject. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2007/07/18/michael_and_me
Posted By: Kristine on July 20, 2007 4:53 PM
Hear, hear! I have come to the same conclusion about health-care benefits. There is no direct connection between an individual and the money that is spent on their healthcare. I (a self-employed husband) was denied insurance for myself-only because I was an expectant father and the insurance company was afraid the child might have some horrible disease that I might want to cover under their policy. Dealing with insurance companies in their current state is a nightmare.
Posted By: Paul on July 20, 2007 4:27 PM
Interesting comments. Loved the Stossel article. He makes the point that profit is not the problem -- lack of competition is, and it's a very compelling argument. Labrialumn -- hmm... so much of the American economy is based on the principle that if you serve people well, you'll make more money. I don't think that's a bad thing. How would you define an idolater -- based on whether or not they make money, or how they feel about the money they make? Anna--I'm afraid the Jubilee idea would never work. People would just not pay, waiting for their debts to be forgiven.
Posted By: Lori Smith on

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