faith in action

United Methodists work for health care justice

Members of the U.S. Congress have worked since January to make significant changes to the American health care system. United Methodists worked hard to protect health care and call for increased access to high-quality, affordable health care.


Cynthia Abrams Leads Health care Prayer Vigil

Everyone agrees that changes need to be made to improve the current health care laws. Too many people are skipping a doctor’s appointment today because they can’t afford the co-pay. Too many people will go to bed tonight without health insurance. Too many people will wake up tomorrow wondering how they’ll pay their medical bills.

People struggle for access to high-quality, affordable health care day after day.

We are called as followers of Christ to share our neighbor’s struggles and to lighten their load. Because of this call, we must continue to tell senators to vote no on the current legislation. It is unthinkable that we’d consider making changings to the health care system that will add millions of people to the list of those uninsured.

United Methodists of all political stripes worked over the last six months to ensure that any changes to health care law have one outcome: more people getting the care they need.

People like you have wrote letters, sent postcards and emails, and made hundreds of phone calls to your members of Congress. United Methodists have also gone to their senators’ office and met with the senators’ staff.

Bishops Sandra Steiner Ball and Gregory Palmer each wrote articles for local newspapers in their states. Bishops Peggy Johnson and Violet Fisher led prayer at a rally outside a congressman’s office.

The Rev. James Brigman, the pastor of St. Paul UMC in Rockingham, North Carolina, is walking the 375 miles from his home to Washington, D.C. His 9-year-old daughter was born with several medical challenges. When he heard of the proposed cuts to Medicaid, he felt God call him to speak out for his daughter and those like her who rely on Medicaid for care. You can read more of his story here, here, and here

United Methodists have joined other faith leaders at multi-faith vigils and rallies (like this one in Parkersburg, West Virginia). They have spoken at press conferences. They have added their names to newspaper and radio ads. Hundreds of messages have been sent to senators through Church and Society’s website.

It’s truly amazing.

And with a vote late Thursday evening (well, early Friday morning), we were successful. We succeeded in stopping legislation that would have raised premiums and left millions without insurance.

We know that there is work to be done to improve health care in the United States. The United Methodist Church firmly asserts that “Health care is a basic human right.” (Social Principles, 162.V)

We cannot stop working until all have access to that right.