Why Are Republicans - And Conservative Christians in Particular - Against Health Care Reform?

The New York Times has a main editorial today that looks at the consequences of millions of Americans not having health insurance coverage. Among them ar 18,000 needlessdeaths each year, inefficient and costly use of emergency rooms in lieu primary care givers, and late diagnosis of problems that could have been addressed earlier thereby saving huge costs later. As I have said before, the irony is that the principal opponents of a public option are conservative Republians - who constantly proclaim that they are pro-life and Christian - and their evangelical Christian base. 18,000 needless deaths and the sick going untreated certainly do not strike me as something that Christ would have approved of based on the Gospels which so many of these opponents of health care reform claim are inerrant. The hypocrisy of it all is most telling and further demonstrates that fundamentalism is turing the Christian message into something truly evil. As for the GOP elected officials, they obviously honor the money they receive from drug companies and the insurance industry more than the Gospel message. I wish the MSM would challenge these hypocrites on this issue. Here are some highlights from the editorial:

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No matter how you slice the numbers, there are tens of millions of people without insurance, often for extended periods, and there is good evidence that lack of insurance is harmful to their health. Scores of well-designed studies have shown that uninsured people are more likely than insured people to die prematurely, to have their cancers diagnosed too late, or to die from heart failure, a heart attack, a stroke or a severe injury. The Institute of Medicine estimated in 2004 that perhaps 18,000 deaths a year among adults could be attributed to lack of insurance.

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The oft-voiced suggestion that the uninsured can always go to an emergency room also badly misunderstands what is happening. By the time they do go, many of these people are much sicker than they would have been had insurance given them access to routine and preventive care. Emergency rooms are costly, and if uninsured patients cannot pay for their care, the hospital or the government ends up footing the bill.

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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 28 million people were uninsured for all of 2005 and 2006 and that 18.5 million of them were uninsured for at least four straight years. That does not sound like a “temporary” problem, and the picture today is almost certainly bleaker.

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THE WORKING POOR The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that about two-thirds of the uninsured — 30 million people — earn less than twice the poverty level, or about $44,000 for a family of four. It also estimates that more than 80 percent of the uninsured come from families with full-time or part-time workers. They often cannot get coverage at work or find it too expensive to buy. They surely deserve a helping hand.
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THE UNDERINSURED The Commonwealth Fund estimates that 25 million Americans who had health insurance in 2007 had woefully inadequate policies with high deductibles and restrictions that stuck them with large amounts of uncovered expenses. Many postponed needed treatments or went into debt to pay medical bills.

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If nothing is done to slow current trends, the number of people in this country without insurance or with inadequate coverage will continue to spiral upward. That would be a personal tragedy for many and a moral disgrace for the nation. It is also by no means cost-free. Any nation as rich as ours ought to guarantee health coverage for all of its residents.