Fourteen years ago, on August 16, 1995 a beloved friend, Carla Barrett lost her battle with AIDS. When we met she was poor, uninsured, and completely overwhelmed by the fact that she had a fatal disease.
Carla and I were introduced through a church group that was born to care for the sick, the needy, the friendless, and the oppressed. When we met, Carla could have stood as the representative for any one of those groups. Our introduction was part of an orchestrated outreach effort aimed at inviting people to live out their faith, or live their faith out-loud. Carla was 16 when she was diagnosed as being HIV positive and had neither the means nor the experience to navigate the health care system on her own. I had spent seven years working in healthcare policy. Together we fought to get her health insurance, medicine, adequate nutrition, and culturally-competent care.
I know that there are thousands of similar programs across the country, supported by hundreds of thousands of religious groups and ministries. They serve some of the estimated 40 million plus people who do not have health care coverage. I know that we stand at a unique moment when the leaders of these organizations must be heard because many of the people they serve are being failed by our current health care system. Their clients and congregation members are uninsured, or underinsured and at risk of bankruptcy. They are poor and many are minorities who have no experience of preventive or primary health care. They are non-English speakers. They are sick and without family supports.
These are among the people that the national health reform proposals will help. The national health reform debate would benefit from hearing from those groups with experience telling the truth, calming the fears, and reclaiming position of trust in our health care system that is being eroded each day. These groups and their faith-based leadership believe that health care is a human right and that having access to that care is essential for people to be able to live into their full potential.
I have attended some of the public rallies and town hall meetings that have been in the news this month. What is shown to wider audiences are screaming protesters, or hateful slogans and posters. What is missing are the voices of constituents who show up with their personal stories – some similar to Carla’s story – of undiagnosed illnesses, or inadequate health care coverage or personal finances that fell short of needed treatments. These are the people who are genuinely asking to understand how national health reform will affect them. Many are afraid. What would help is a pastoral response to these personal stories, and reassurance about the true details of national reform.
On Wednesday, religious leaders are invited to join a conference call with President Obama to hear about the opportunities to raise awareness and support national health reform. This group has an important voice as trusted community and congregational leaders, so I hope that thousands will participate.
Had she lived, today would have been Carla’s 39th birthday. Her family and I are joined in celebrating her memory and are dedicated to seeing that national health reform passes so that millions of people around this country receive proper health care, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity or income. We support Health Care For All.
-Amy Whitcomb Slemmer
