Single payer health care gets nod from UCC assembly
By Jeff Woodard
Worldwide Faith News
July 2, 2009
Citing both specificity and urgency, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) passed without amendment a resolution titled “Calling for the Support of H.R. 676 — Single Payer National Health Care Reform to Advance Health Equity for All and to Eliminate Health Disparities” on June 30.
Mary Beth Cross, a delegate from the Nebraska Conference, said after a unanimous vote out of committee the day before that the time to rally is now. “This is a Gospel-mandated mission of faith for everyone to make sure that universal health care becomes a reality,” she said.
Several delegates expressed an urgency for action within the next four months, before another election cycle begins. They concurred that it was crucial for the resolution to support a specific action – H.R. 676, in this case – rather than a general endorsement of universal health care.
The resolution was submitted by the Council on Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM). Key among its proponents has been Barbara Baylor, UCC minister for health care justice.
“We lift up our (belief) that all persons deserve and must have quality, accessible, affordable health care and related social services, including mental-health services and full accessibility for the disabled,” Baylor said.
H.R. 676 (the U.S. National Health Care Act) is a bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan to create a single-payer, publicly financed, privately delivered universal health care program. Its goal is to cover all Americans without charging co-pays or deductibles and guarantees access to the highest quality and most affordable health care services regardless of employment, ability to pay or pre-existing health conditions.
In a single-payer system established by the government, one entity handles all billing and payment for health care services. The current system involves several thousand payers. Reports suggest that administrative waste accounts for roughly 31 percent of the money spent on health care.
http://www.wfn.org/2009/07/msg00026.html