Article May 28, 2007 Issue

AVAILABLE NOW: truly universal healthcare

BY PHIL DAVIS

IT MUST BE one of the noblest of motives—to provide affordable, accessible, and effective healthcare to everyone. Governments around the world are wrestling with this challenge. Some already have sweeping government-paid healthcare plans. Others involve different models involving private insurance companies or employer-based plans. Still other governments are in the process of continually changing their healthcare plans. One thing is certain—the only thing universal about the plans so far seems to be the desire for them.

Unfortunately, any approach becomes more political and complicated when we consider that everyone must bear the cost—either through taxes, insurance plans, or by fee-for-service arrangements. In essence, under any of the systems currently in place, consumers are presented with a materialistic healthcare system that is increasingly expensive to operate and lacks the resources to be accessible to everyone—in other words, to be truly universal. The driving forces of big business, insurance, medical suppliers, and care providers represent huge financial interests. And all too often, when governments and big business are involved, the public becomes suspicious, even cynical about the outcome.

In recent years, it may be true that the rising cost of medical treatment has escalated the issue of healthcare on a global level, but the desire for a better, more accessible, and available system of healthcare goes back thousands of years. Christ Jesus encountered this desire with many of the people he met and healed through divine power.