At Issue: A call to care for the rising numbers of the uninsured
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
This year, shining the spotlight on "Cover the Uninsured Week" should be woefully easy.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is sponsoring the call to action for the fourth year in a row and if timing is everything, the move to insure all Americans will galvanize in 2009.
Anyone who doubts the impetus is there isn’t listening to relatives, friends, acquaintances and co-workers who are sick with worry over health care loss.
While most of those folks are in the "what if" stage, 46 million Americans are already in the ranks of the uninsured including eight million children.
Since the Census Bureau collected 2007 data, the unemployment rate has grown from 4.4 percent to 7.6 percent resulting in 3.5 million new people uninsured. An estimated 14,000 persons a day are losing coverage as a result of the recession.
At this point, it’s a pretty sure bet that everyone knows someone who is dealing with a lack of healthcare insurance.
Among my close friends, there’s "Kathy," the single mother of three who lost her longstanding job in a cutback that will, when her severance package runs out this spring, lose the medical coverage the family has relied on for years.
As the recent survivor of a serious illness and the sole support of her children, she’s more than justified in being frightened over the prospect of going without insurance. Being out on a limb with millions of other people is cold comfort indeed.
From March 22 – 28, the USCCB, along with its ecumenical and interfaith partners in educating the public and policymakers, will be focusing attention on the need for affordable and accessible health care for all.
The leadership of this project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, includes the Catholic Health Association of the United States, major health organizations and business and labor groups.
Turn to the Uninsured Week website (CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org) for information and click on "Learn about your state" for information about programs that already exist in New Jersey – such as New Jersey Family Care and New Jersey FamilyCare Advantage. At CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org, also click on the "How to Help section for suggestions on what you can do. There are materials to help plan an event and an idea section. You can also check the Catholic Health Association website for CTUW materials at www.chausa.org.
Reaching out to help the millions of uninsured – eight out of 10 are in working families – is a natural for faith communities, the bishops said in a prepared release.
Because faith communities have a long tradition of caring for people who suffer in mind, body and spirit, today we proclaim the call to care for our nation’s nearly 46 million unin¬sured people."
They note that in our Catholic tradition, health care is a basic human right. Access, they wrote, shouldn’t depend on where a person works, how much a family earns or where a person lives.
"Instead," the bishops wrote, "every person, created in the image and likeness of God, has a right to life and to those things necessary to sustain life, including affordable, quality health care.
"This teaching is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and serve the 'least of these', our concern for human life and dignity, and the principle of the common good."
To learn more about Catholic teaching on health care, find the full statement by the United States Catholic Bishops – A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform – at usccb.org/sdwp/national/com¬phealth.shtml. And, aside from researching on the Internet, getting up to speed with how to help or ways to find help, there is our most basic re¬source: prayer.
The bishops offer this Prayer for the Uninsured as spiritual suste¬nance in these worrisome times:
"Father of goodness and love, hear our prayers for the uninsured who are members of our community and for all who are in need.
"For those who seek care but find that it is out of reach, may they find consolation in your healing pres¬ence.
"For all who are blessed with health and security, may they strive to fulfill the needs of those who are sick and insecure.
"For leaders who make decisions that affect the health and well-being of others, may they work to ensure the fundamental right to health care.
"We ask this through Christ our Lord who healed those who believed. Amen." Lois Rogers is features editor of The Monitor. She is available at [email protected]
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This year, shining the spotlight on "Cover the Uninsured Week" should be woefully easy.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is sponsoring the call to action for the fourth year in a row and if timing is everything, the move to insure all Americans will galvanize in 2009.
Anyone who doubts the impetus is there isn’t listening to relatives, friends, acquaintances and co-workers who are sick with worry over health care loss.
While most of those folks are in the "what if" stage, 46 million Americans are already in the ranks of the uninsured including eight million children.
Since the Census Bureau collected 2007 data, the unemployment rate has grown from 4.4 percent to 7.6 percent resulting in 3.5 million new people uninsured. An estimated 14,000 persons a day are losing coverage as a result of the recession.
At this point, it’s a pretty sure bet that everyone knows someone who is dealing with a lack of healthcare insurance.
Among my close friends, there’s "Kathy," the single mother of three who lost her longstanding job in a cutback that will, when her severance package runs out this spring, lose the medical coverage the family has relied on for years.
As the recent survivor of a serious illness and the sole support of her children, she’s more than justified in being frightened over the prospect of going without insurance. Being out on a limb with millions of other people is cold comfort indeed.
From March 22 – 28, the USCCB, along with its ecumenical and interfaith partners in educating the public and policymakers, will be focusing attention on the need for affordable and accessible health care for all.
The leadership of this project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, includes the Catholic Health Association of the United States, major health organizations and business and labor groups.
Turn to the Uninsured Week website (CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org) for information and click on "Learn about your state" for information about programs that already exist in New Jersey – such as New Jersey Family Care and New Jersey FamilyCare Advantage. At CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org, also click on the "How to Help section for suggestions on what you can do. There are materials to help plan an event and an idea section. You can also check the Catholic Health Association website for CTUW materials at www.chausa.org.
Reaching out to help the millions of uninsured – eight out of 10 are in working families – is a natural for faith communities, the bishops said in a prepared release.
Because faith communities have a long tradition of caring for people who suffer in mind, body and spirit, today we proclaim the call to care for our nation’s nearly 46 million unin¬sured people."
They note that in our Catholic tradition, health care is a basic human right. Access, they wrote, shouldn’t depend on where a person works, how much a family earns or where a person lives.
"Instead," the bishops wrote, "every person, created in the image and likeness of God, has a right to life and to those things necessary to sustain life, including affordable, quality health care.
"This teaching is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and serve the 'least of these', our concern for human life and dignity, and the principle of the common good."
To learn more about Catholic teaching on health care, find the full statement by the United States Catholic Bishops – A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform – at usccb.org/sdwp/national/com¬phealth.shtml. And, aside from researching on the Internet, getting up to speed with how to help or ways to find help, there is our most basic re¬source: prayer.
The bishops offer this Prayer for the Uninsured as spiritual suste¬nance in these worrisome times:
"Father of goodness and love, hear our prayers for the uninsured who are members of our community and for all who are in need.
"For those who seek care but find that it is out of reach, may they find consolation in your healing pres¬ence.
"For all who are blessed with health and security, may they strive to fulfill the needs of those who are sick and insecure.
"For leaders who make decisions that affect the health and well-being of others, may they work to ensure the fundamental right to health care.
"We ask this through Christ our Lord who healed those who believed. Amen." Lois Rogers is features editor of The Monitor. She is available at [email protected]
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