Health Care for All

January 2006
June 2006 - Updated information on Citizens’ Health Care Working Group

• What you can do

Catholic Social Teaching and Health Care

“For I was sick and you took care of me.” Matthew 25: 36 NRSV

“Affordable and accessible health care is an essential safeguard of human life and a fundamental human right. Any plan to reform the nation’s health care system must be rooted in values that respect human dignity, protect human life, and meet the unique needs of the poor. We support health care that is affordable and accessible to all.”

- Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium (USCCB)

NETWORK's Position

NETWORK believes, and the Church teaches that:

• Each human being has inherent dignity and worth;
• Health care is a basic human right.

We advocate for a health care system that is:

Accessible to everyone in the United States
Affordable, funded and administered in a simple, direct way
Comprehensive, including preventative, primary, acute and long term care
Quality, including care that is culturally appropriate.

The principle of economic equity requires “meeting the basic needs of the whole person – physical, spiritual and intellectual”, including the guarantee of affordable and quality health care. (NETWORK Economic Equity Statement, 2001).

Fixing the Problem

One in six Americans currently lack health care coverage. Many more are underinsured – meaning they have some access, but not enough to meet their needs. With drastically increasing premiums, fewer employers are providing health insurance to their employees.

For further information about the crisis of the uninsured, see these resources from the Kaiser Family Foundation:

The Uninsured and Their Access to Health Care
Myths About the Uninsured

Families USA also has excellent resources on advocating for health care reform.

NEWORK works with our members and with a broad coalition of faith and secular advocacy groups towards establishing a system that guarantees health care for all. In the meantime, we also advocate for the preservation and expansion of publicly-funded health care programs that benefit children, low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities, including Medicaid, Medicare, the Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act and the State Children’s Health Program.

Stay tuned for more updates on legislative advocacy efforts you can join to make health care work for all! In the meantime, below are some other ways you can make your voice heard.

Raise your voice to make health care work for all!

What can you do to help increase national momentum for health care reform? NETWORK invites you to explore two unique opportunities to make your voice heard.

Health Care Dialogues

Visit Our Healthcare Future.org, a joint project of Network Education Program, the St. Joseph Health Care system, Georgetown University Medical Center and Allegheny Franciscan Ministries. Find out how you can join the national dialogue towards health care for all!

Citizens’ Health Care Working Group

The Medicare Modernization Act, passed in 2003, included the creation of a commission called the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group. The group is charged with leading a nationwide discussion about creating a healthcare system that would “provide every American with the ability to obtain quality, affordable, health care.” During the first half of 2006, the group held meetings across the country and distributed surveys to find out ordinary Americans’ concerns about health care. Thousands participated – including NETWORK members.

On June 2, the group released its interim recommendations – available for viewing online here . After 90 days of public comment, the group will present its final recommendations to Congress and the president, who are required by law to take action based on the working group’s recommendations.

NETWORK, along with our partners in the faith community, will respond very soon to the principles and action steps that the group has proposed. In the meantime, you can read the report for yourself and contribute your own comments online. You can also tell the group about your own experiences with health care here.

We hope you will join us in taking this important step toward creating a better healthcare system for all Americans.