I would seriously like to inquire as to why the U. S. Catholic Bishops consider universal (stressed several times by Bishop Murphy) health care to be a right.
What IS a Right? Would we now consider electricity to be a Right? I mean, what’s life in the U.S. without electricity? You need it to store and cook food, which are necessary for life.
The above brief “argument” is my attempt at making a point. There’s nothing that says healthcare is a universal Right. If it were to be universal, it should be a WORLD-WIDE Right, but it’s not. And the Bishops aren’t talking to Africa about their healthcare (or lack there-of).
We have the greatest healthcare available here in the U.S., despite the damage that trial lawyers perpetually inflict against it. It’s not perfect, but a first step to lowering costs would be to implement Tort Reform (that’s limiting how much doctors, hospitals, etc. can be sued for). Right now, malpractice insurance against lawsuits is a HUGE expense that the patient ends up paying for.
Another observation I would like to make is that I have NEVER known ANYONE to be turned away from care. County hospitals have to charge according to what the patient can afford. Why is that not brought up?
The USCCB is playing politics here by getting into the healthcare ring, and it’s a dangerous game. There is NOTHING good that is going to come out of Capitol Hill on Healthcare. Abortion has been stealthily placed in several places in all of the legislation, so to even believe politicians is foolishness.
It’s a shame that The Church has lost so many vocations. There was a day when there were Catholic hospitals run by religious orders of nuns who cared for the sick, and money was not an issue. (I’m not even going to into the cost of modern equipment! Americans can pay for it, and we’re blessed to have it!)
Healthcare is not a right. It falls under the CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY. And that is as far as The Church needs to get involved in this political issue.