This first post is being written on Monday, March 22, 2010, the day after Congress passed the bill intended to give health insurance to everybody in the United States.
When people are sick or disabled it is good to help them. When Jesus told the story of the Samaritan who helped the badly injured man by the side of the road, it is clear that He wants us to help those who are hurting.
Current government programs like Medicare and Medicaid already help many people who are sick or disabled. Both my wife and I need such help. We both depend on wheelchairs for mobility and medicines for our medical conditions. I also depend on two breathing machines, one that is needed at night, and another I need during the day.
Both my wife and I have been disabled since childhood so we haven't been able to earn much money that we could use to pay for our medicines and medical equipment. But as health care has been expanding to more people, our health care coverage has been reduced.
I've already had to pay hundreds of dollars for certain health care needs that are no longer covered.
As the expense of providing health care coverage for everybody escalates, there will be the need to find more ways to cut costs. Like instead of my being able to live a fairly active life by having my two breathing machines, why not do a tracheotomy on me so one machine could keep me alive even it it meant severe discomfort, restrictions on what I was able to do, and a shorter life?
Of course if I die sooner rather than later, I could look forward to being with Jesus. But when I'm gone what will my wife do? Personal care attendants would continue to help her for the parts of the day when they're here. But the other times she'd be alone.
There's not a lot I'm physically able to do for my wife, but what I am able to do for her I very gladly do. I do what I can for her because I love her. When I'm gone I won't be able to be of any more help to my sweetheart.
I hope fellow Christians will start stepping forward and doing for one another what we've come to depend on government to do for us. Jesus told us to be like the Samaritan who did all that he could to help the man in need.
When others, including those representing the government and its universal health care programs, step to the other side of the road and decide they can't help certain individuals for one "good" reason or another, will there be some who will
do what is needed to care for and save people's lives?
I hope so. My wife hopes so. But she's scared. And I certainly understand why.
