The uninsured and health care reform

[mark_a]

Presuming some type of health care reform bill is enacted, do you think it is ok for the uninsured to take advantage of it provided we break no moral teachings of the Catholic Church?

 

[j1akey]

is it ok for the uninsured to take advantage of it provided we break no moral teachings of the Catholic Church?

Not sure what you’re talking about here. What do the uninsured have to do with moral teachings of the church?

 

[Bluegoat]

Are you asking, if the Bill funds things Catholics find morally objectionable, can those who are eligible take advantage of the other parts of it, like a regular doctors appointment?

I think yes. Certainly in countries with public health care, Catholics are allowed to receive it even though it may also provide things like abortions to some people.

As long as abortion is legal, any public system is likely going to allow for it in some form - because it is legal. That does not mean public health care is not a positive good. I think getting abortions made illegal or restricted would better be addressed as a separate issue - it would then impact the availability of government funded abortion.

For what it’s worth, I think it is unlikely that abortion would ever be made entirely illegal, even if it was severely restricted. It would be very difficult for the state to take a definitive position in cases where there was serious risk to the mother - on what legal basis could it choose mother or baby? So there is likely to be some access to abortion under any public health care system.

 

[kage_ar]

The VAST majority of corporate health insurance plans pay for abortion and contraception (wonder why no one is flooding my email to protest the contraception in this gov’t plan…). This means that the vast majority of Americans are already using a plan that has immoral things in it.

 

[mark_a]

The VAST majority of corporate health insurance plans pay for abortion and contraception (wonder why no one is flooding my email to protest the contraception in this gov’t plan…). This means that the vast majority of Americans are already using a plan that has immoral things in it.

That’s a good point.

 

[vmd]

At my institution, we are offered 2 group health plans from 2 different health providers, one covers elective abortions one does not. Both cover contraceptives. My dilemma is that I signed up for the plan that covers elective abortions based on premium costs, but I was not mindful of this when I made the choice. Subsequently, I realized I had made the wrong choice when I read the contract exclusions and inclusions. By then, however, it was too late for me to drop the plan I chose and revert to the other plan (one can only switch during an open enrollment period). I will not be able to re-enroll in the plan that excludes elective abortions until next summer. My dilemma deals with my moral obligation to drop the group health plan and find an individual plan that does not cover elective abortions. I have sent an email to Father Torraco and I hope he will enlighten me on this subject. As you might imagine, I am very distressed about the situation that I am in. The other issue is whether we are obliged to actively search for health plans that exclude both abortion and contraceptives, mindful that contraceptives are sometimes used for non-contraceptive purposes. Then again, other medications besides contraceptives may be used to treat the medical concern at hand. There may also be a practical matter, insofar, as it is highly unlikely that one will find individual health plans that have as many benefits for the money when compared to group health plans. But, can one even take such practical factors into consideration when the question under scrutiny is an objective evil?