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Ventura County Star
May 5, 2005
By Erik Goehner and Miriam Arichea
Medical chart entry: B.D. is a 15-year-old
white male who collapsed with coughing fit in P.E. class after
running one mile. Past medical history is notable for three
prior emergency room visits for similar episodes. Physical
exam is notable for labored breathing with audible wheezing.
Fact: This potentially life-threatening condition is treatable
but requires routine medical follow-up. Unfortunately, B.D.
has no insurance.
Medical chart entry: L.R. is a 12-year-old
Hispanic male, who complained of headaches and impaired vision
for several months. He had not seen a physician for two years
because his parents had no insurance coverage. After presentation
to a local emergency room, MRI test reveals an inoperable
brain tumor.
These are not fictional accounts, although
the names have been changed at the boys' request. They were
seen by physicians at a local emergency room--each with a
grave but highly treatable condition--because they have no
health insurance.
8.4 million children lack insurance
Nearly 20 percent of the nation's 45 million uninsured are
children. These 8.4 million boys and girls lack access to
routine healthcare, and like the two boys, often experience
worse health outcomes. In Ventura County, some 30,000 children
age 18 and below have no health insurance.
Now in its third year, Cover the Uninsured
Week, celebrated through May 8, provides an occasion to mobilize
on the issue of the uninsured. We live in a nation blessed
with an abundance of highly trained health professionals,
state-of-the-art facilities, and new research and technologies.
Yet, these resources remain largely unavailable to one of
every six of us: 15.6 percent of our population, and 11.4
percent of our children, do not have health insurance.
Moral imperative to respond
Members of Ventura County Clergy and Laity United for Economic
Justice believe we have a moral imperative to respond to this
vast problem. As community-of-faith members, we have a particular
calling to care for the sick and the suffering, for the weakest
and most vulnerable in our communities.
In the Christian tradition, we look toward
Jesus' ministry, so much of which centered on caring for
the sick. Jesus even sent his disciples to heal in his name.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church has declared: "The Christian
Church is called to be an active participant in fashioning
a just and effective healthcare system...Healthcare and healing
are concrete manifestations of God's ongoing care for and
redemption of all creation" (Social Statement, 2003).
Our brothers and sisters in the Jewish and
Islamic faith traditions have comparable teachings that compel
them to action. The Jewish people are commanded "not
to stand idly by the blood of our neighbors," with the
admonition that "whoever is able to save another and
does not save him transgresses this commandment."
The Islamic people receive guidance from
the holy book Quran, which stipulates that Islam is based
upon the establishment of justice and mercy. To that end,
the prophet Muhammad states: "None of you shall attain
to full faith until you love for your brother or sister what
you love for yourself."
Here in Ventura County, we have a unique
opportunity to act upon the teachings of our faith. A health
measure before the Tobacco Settlement Commission and the Board
of Supervisors would ensure healthcare access to all county
children.
The Children's Health Initiative
The Children's Health Initiative, modeled upon a successful
initiative in Santa Clara County, has a two-pronged approach
to providing health coverage. First, the initiative would
improve current enrollment and retention in existing health
programs. About 25,000 children in this county remain uninsured
despite the fact that they qualify for existing programs such
as Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. The initiative would remedy
this through a streamlined application process, more outreach
points such as schools and churches to enroll children, and
parent education to encourage the continued use of health
insurance.
Second, the initiative would establish an
additional program, Healthy Kids, to cover the roughly 5,000
children in the county who do not qualify for existing programs
but whose parents' income is insufficient to buy private insurance.
The Children's Health Initiative has been
successful because it also represents a viable financial solution.
While the initiative requires funding by a combination of
public and private money, the initiative generates millions
of dollars in federal and state reimbursements that accrue
to the county from more children being enrolled in Medi-Cal
and Healthy Families. In short, the initiative has insured
kids in Santa Clara County since 2001, has since been implemented
in nine additional counties, and will become active in a total
of 17 California counties this year. By fall, Ventura County
could have the unfortunate distinction of being the only Central
Coast county without a Children's Health Initiative.
We can and must avert such a dire scenario.
County officials will be making key decisions in the following
weeks, and we invite you to make an impact. The Board of Supervisors
meeting Tuesday, and the Tobacco Settlement Commission meeting
May 18 -- where they will vote on a $1 million allocation
to the initiative -- present significant opportunities for
action.
Clergy and laity from the interfaith organization
of CLUE will join with other community members mobilized
by the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy
at both of these meetings to make public comment, or to merely
show support by their presence. We at CLUE hope you feel
inspired -- by your faith, your passion for justice, your
sense of empathy for children -- to participate. As Jesus
once said,
"Allow the children to come to me, for of such is the
kingdom of God."
Erik Goehner is pastor at Mount Cross
Lutheran Church in Camarillo and healthcare chairman for Ventura
County Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. Miriam
Arichea is coordinator for VC CLUE. For additional information,
contact CLUE at 658-0810 or miriam@coastalalliance.com.
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