Religious Exemption to Obamacare: what about the kids?

I just heard a story on Here and Now (WBUR, Boston) where the host interviewed a Congressman who talked about a bipartisan vote that was held regarding who has to have Obamacare (ACA), and who doesn't.

Rep. Schock Pushes For Religious Exemption From Health Law

Earlier this week, the House passed a bill allowing individuals to opt out of mandatory health insurance by writing “sincerely held religious beliefs” on their tax return, along with a sworn statement explaining their objection.

The Equitable Access to Care and Health Act (EACH) was sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois and heavily lobbied by the Christian Science church.

Although there was strong support from both sides of the aisle, some Democrats argued that allowing people to opt out of the bill could cost American taxpayers when uninsured individuals turn up in the emergency room after accidents or other emergencies.

Other opponents, including Rita Swan of the children’s healthcare advocacy group Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty (CHILD), who is a former Christian Scientist herself, are concerned the bill will encourage Christian Science parents and members of other religious sects to not seek medical treatment for their children, which could cost them their lives.

Okay, this is not just a slippery slope, it's a regular drop-off.

Sure, you can say you're a Christian Scientist or any of the other numerous religions that allow their kids to expire because their pastors tell them using medical care is sinful. Obviously, this is a sticky situation...

for my part, I side with the children and accident victims. It used to be in this country that ANYONE got treated at ERs regardless of ability to pay...especially the Catholic hospitals and county hospitals. This is humane, and decent. I know lots of people don't agree with it, and resent it, but it's been how our nation worked. The indigent were cared for.

Now, with ACA being 'mandatory', Congress is looking for ways to "ease the pain" I guess...

If a parent or guardian chooses to opt out based on faith-healing-only premises, fine. Says Congress. They can do that.

Two issues here:

Children whose parents decide to opt out are vulnerable; they would not receive care and are completely at the mercy of their well-intentioned (or not so much) parents/caregivers. This is true whether or not Health Care Insurance is a topic at all. And I entirely disagree with it.

childrenshealthcare.org...

Update October 28, 2013

MEDICAL & LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS
OPPOSE RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS FROM CHILD HEALTH LAWS

The American Academy of Pediatrics today released its newest policy statement calling for repeal of the religious exemptions to child abuse and neglect laws that still exist in many states. (See Reuters’ report on the statement’s release.) It is the strongest statement yet to come out of the AAP’s Committee on Bioethics. Together with the policy positions taken by other professional medical and legal organizations (see below), it poses a powerful moral and practical argument for the idea that children’s healthcare is a legal duty.

This Rep, Mr Schock (R-IL), says the constitution is violated by mandating the purchase of health insurance (4.2 million people have now signed up to ACA, which Obama says is enough of a base to show that the program will work once the politics die down), based on the premise that the govt will pass no law that upholds or denounces religious faiths of any kind.

Okay fine. You're a single adult with no dependents, and you don't want to ever go see a doctor, ever. What happens when you are in a bad accident, and unconscious? Will they bounce you out of the hospital?

No. They will treat you anyway, and then slap you with back-taxes, hefty fees, and fines for using the health care you said you'd avoid like the plague. (heh)

But what about the kids who are dying NOW because of this faith-based refusal of medical treatment? I agree with the CHILD organization's premises:

About CHILD

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty is to end child abuse or neglect related to religion, cultural practices, or quackery through public education, research, legal action, and a limited amount of lobbying.


WE SUPPORT

Laws requiring medical care of children, including preventive and diagnostic measures, without exception for religious belief
Reporting of child abuse and neglect without religious exemption
Licensing of child care facilities including those run by churches
Ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child

I've no clue if any of our members are involved in any faith which rejects medical intervention or treatment, but I want to talk about this anyway....
what does it say about our country?

You had to know that any time Congress passes a two thousand page bill without reading it that it had loopholes that you could drive a truck through. Not only for the insurance companies that wrote the bill, but also for lobbyists that paid enough to slip a few sentences into the legislation. I believe the religious exemption was added in to satisfy certain Jewish denominations, but certain Christian and Muslim groups can use it to. I'm not sure who else can take advantage of it.

Personally, I'll be using the Native American exception, being a card carrying member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

Apparently the Christian Science group lobbied for this....it was just voted a go in the House, now on to the Senate.

What does the Native American exception do about care? Haven't heard of that one. What does it represent in terms of children's care?

BuzzyWigs
Apparently the Christian Science group lobbied for this....it was just voted a go in the House, now on to the Senate.

What does the Native American exception do about care? Haven't heard of that one. What does it represent in terms of children's care?

I apologize. I'm not feeling very sharp today and my reading comprehension skills were out to lunch when I read the OP.

I was refering to the religious and Native American exemptions in the Obamacare legislation, which only seems to be tangentially related to what you posted. It seems the OP was about whether or not Christian Science should be included to the religions exempted from Obamacare.

Sorry about the confusion.

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


LOL!
It's okay - apparently no one else is getting it either (or it's a nice spring day and people are offline).
My beef is with the neglect of children on grounds of religious dogma to reject medical care.

I could still change the title: what do you think would be better??

(I'd still like to know more about the Native American system, though...)

reply to post by BuzzyWigs


I believe the Native American exemption was included in Obamacare to head off any legal inconsistencies that may have come up when the legislation conflicted with treaties that the US Government signed with certain tribes.

I know, it's kind of weird to see the US Government actually living up to treaties they signed with Native American tribes, but we live in strange times.

------------

As for the child neglect on religious grounds, that's more of a health care thing than a health insurance thing. If someone is that fanatically devoted to their religion, the child would probably suffer from lack of medical care whether they had insurance or not.

reply to post by VictorVonDoom

I know, it's kind of weird to see the US Government actually living up to treaties they signed with Native American tribes, but we live in strange times.

Yes, we do. Very strange indeed.

I feel almost paralyzed, waiting to see what will happen next.

This particular topic is, in my opinion, an effort by Reps to push legislation that stymies the ACA.

There is an enormously powerful coalition of religious organizations that pay tons of money for laws to be favorable for them.
One reason I think "lobbying" should be made illegal. Why does it always have to be about money and deeper pockets?

What about the kids??

BuzzyWigs
What about the kids??

Keep in mind, this is a country that will send our best and bravest off to die in a country they couldn't find on a globe, based on lies, for the profit of large corporations.

I'd like to post more on your topic but I really am feeling fuzzy right notw Maybe I'll catch a nap and post more later.

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


Yeah, I know.

It's awful.
So anyway - if you care to discuss it; what is the Native American health system like?

Most "highly religious" people I know are more protective of their children than the state ever could be (sometimes to a fault). I'm not worried about them at all. In regards to medicine, that is.

Did anyone else find it really funny that the UN has a commission (or whatever) on children's rights?

reply to post by NthOther

I'm not worried about them at all. In regards to medicine, that is.

Did you not read the articles/websites?

They are talking about giving the faith-healing-only religious a pass on the medical insurance.
If you go to the CHILD website, you can view portraits of the littles who have died because their parents refuse to access medical treatment.

That's what I'm on about - and the children, once again, are the vulnerable ones.

BuzzyWigs
reply to post by VictorVonDoom

 

Yeah, I know.

It's awful.
So anyway - if you care to discuss it; what is the Native American health system like?

Well. speaking for my family members, health care was a matter of hard work, growing, catching, and hunting our own food, combined with a generous amount of tobacco and moonshine. Figure on a life expectancy of about the mid 50s. Longer if you stayed away from the alcohol and attended church regularly. Shorter if you got into a lot of bar fights. Really short if you got into the drugs that seem to be cropping up everywhere.

I had a cousin that died in a bar incident at 20. I had an aunt that lived to 93 who made her own wine and always had a chaw of tobacco between her cheek and gum. So I figure we are pretty much like anyone else. Who wants to live forever? I'm in my mid 50s and I'm ready to go when the time comes. I figure it's all downhill from here.