Faith in Health Reform

Health care reform is a major topic in the news, with the election of Donald Trump and the Republican promise to ‘repeal and replace’ the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka. Obamacare).  With the recent release of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the debate has intensified, as those on both sides of the debate now have a tangible framework to discuss.

The AHCA and the rhetoric around the ACA and health care, in general, is fascinating from a health policy perspective.  It is, however, rather disheartening to see the reaction from people of faith to these programs and proposals. Faith-based arguments against the ACA and expansion of health care have included:

• Elected officials using Jesus’s words to justify the denial of coverage to poor citizens ()
• The Christian Coalition's agenda includes repeal of the ACA, with assertions about federal funding of abortions 
• Concerns about religious freedom and provision of contraceptives 
• Physicians recently won the right to refuse to treat transgender patients or women who have had an abortion 
• Other concerns about federal power and tax policy being intrusive upon general personal freedoms 

Of course, there are examples of those standing up for the morality of health care:

• Ohio Gov. Kasich defends expansion of Medicaid by referring to the bible 
• Sitting congressman cites scriptures to question the AHCA proposal 

So, what is a person of faith to do in regards to health care and reform? That is what we hope to explore here on this blog.  We will be posting reactions to news of the day (e.g. controversial statements, movements in legislation or policy, etc.), as well as explore some bigger topics in depth (e.g. abortion, contraception, Medicaid, etc). 

Overall, we seek to aid in thinking through these issues, based on objective data (where possible), with the goal towards more unity among people of faith.  We will have guest bloggers from health policy, medicine, community development, and different faith and faith-based organizations to help us see these debates in a well-rounded and comprehensive way.  We will purposefully seek to make this a non-partisan discussion by including voices from a variety of backgrounds and positions.  Your feedback will help us to do just that.