Sometimes Things Are Black and White: Health Care Coverage for Children

"Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying." (Luke 8:41-42)

"Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs." (Matthew 19:14)

I don't care where you come down on the new health care reform law, but it seems fairly obvious to me that it is nearly impossible to defend the practice of denying health care coverage to children--especially from a faith perspective. So the fact that the new reform law seemed to deal with that issue is a good thing. But, there is a problem.

Apparently, there is a loophole in the new law that allows insurance companies to decline coverage to children with preexisting conditions in some states. Wisconsin happens to be one of those states. According to 620 WTMJ out of Milwaukee, one Wauwatosa family has found this out the hard way. http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/103975539.html

I don't usually believe issues are black and white, however, in the case of denying health care coverage to children because of preexisting conditions it's not hard to make an exception. I recognize that covering sick children may cut into an insurers profits, but tough (Humana, the insurer in this story made $1 billion last year--up $393 million from the year before). Some things are just wrong no matter what--and denying coverage to children is just wrong.

We need to be more than just frustrated or upset, however. We need to do more than shake our heads. As Christians, we are called to take action when we see an opportunity to love our neighbors. To me that means, first of all, if you work for Humana (or another insurance company with similar practices) you have to take a stand at work (there are four Humana insurance offices in Wisconsin). That can mean registering official complaints with the company about its policy and working internally to make a change to looking for a new job because staying means supporting business practices that are contrary to the Gospel's claim on our lives.

This goes beyond just the employees of an insurance company. Insurance companies have to hear from those who are invested in them. Often times, when a company slides into the morally grey, they defend themselves by saying something like, "Well, we're accountable to our stockholders. If we don't do (such and such-like deny coverage to children), our profits will go down, our stock will fall, our stockholders will be upset, and we'll lose our jobs." That leads to a lack of accountability because so many of us are invested in companies through our retirement funds without any idea of what they're doing or what they're about. It's true that we are most concerned with profits so we can have a comfortable retirement.

I don't believe we can say we're being faithful and continue to operate in this manner. In this case in particular, I would encourage anyone who has investments with Humana (and any other health insurer who denies health care coverage to children with preexisting conditions) to sell their stock and invest elsewhere. Then, send a letter to the company's investor relations department explaining your actions and the reason behind them. If faithful Christian investors refuse to put up with morally ambiguous business practices, putting our money where our mouths are, then I believe we will begin to see change. At the very least, we can sleep soundly knowing that we're not securing our future by offering up someone else's future.

Personally, I'm currently trying to find out if the General Board of Pension and Health invests in Humana or if they're part of the failed/ineligible companies with whom they will not invest. If they aren't, I will strive to get them removed from the list of companies the UMC invests with so my pension doesn't support denying health coverage to children.