Table Scraps and the Poor

I've been off and on following the Health Care Debate this summer. I've been hoping that something radical will come out of these debates, the sort of system that other industrialized nations have, the kind of system that would leave more of us free to be entreprenuerial innovators. Many of us stay in our jobs not so much for our salaries but out of fear of losing our health insurance. A few of my friends are relatively young, but they have fairly serious pre-existing conditions; in essence, they are chained to their jobs.

I really don't understand the people who don't want health care reform. Are they that satisfied with their health insurance? If so, it's probably because they haven't tested the limits of that insurance. Sure your health insurance will cover your generic meds for cholesterol lowering and such. But what if you need exotic cancer drugs? Are you so sure your insurance will cover those?

We're all one job loss away from being without health insurance. Are those people who aren't in favor of health care reform really so sure that they will never lose their jobs?

With last week's Gospel still ringing in my ears, I came across this posting on the blog The Jesus Manifesto. Loren McGrail focuses on the foreclosure crisis, but the ideas seem applicable to the health care discussion we're having as a nation: " So the question is, if even Jesus, sometimes, stands in need of correction, a mercy check, who is calling us out today in this time of economic collapse and chaos? Who is calling us to move away from our zones of comfort or privilege, away from our prejudices into unknown territory? What marginalized voices do we hear?"