Faith leaders gathered at the Statehouse before the governor’s budget address Thursday, calling universal health care a moral imperative.
“Health care as a human right is basic compassion,” said Rabbi Joshua Chason from the Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington and president of Vermont Interfaith Action.
“Basic compassion is the essence of all religious and ethical traditions,” he added.
“The bottom line is that we are commanded by our faith and ethical traditions to have enough self respect and mutual respect to accord all of our neighbors the right to accessible affordable quality health care,” Chason said.
The problem is not that it’s too expensive or complex, but a lack of political will to prioritize a “moral economy” that would afford health care to all, he said, condemning Gov. Peter Shumlin’s decision to sideline a public program as a failure.
The faith leaders were joined by members of the Vermont Workers Center, organizers of the recent demonstration at the Statehouse, and coordinators of the Health Care is a Human Right Campaign. They too articulated the need for universal health care through the philosophical lense, but members of the group say they are prepared to help make it a reality.
Just prior to the faith leaders press conference, Robin Lunge and Michael Costa, Gov. Peter Shumlin’s top health policy staffers, spent two hours fielding questions from lawmakers at a joint committee of the House and Senate health care committees.
They rehashed the policy justifications and economic “headwinds” that led Shumlin to decide a publicly financed universal health care program isn’t attainable now. Lawmakers probed their reasoning as several prepare to introduce their own proposals to make health care more affordable and accessible.
Several members of the Workers’ Center sat in on the briefing. Afterward they said Lunge and Costa’s presentation illustrated the complexity of public financing, but affirmed that it can be done.
“There’s absolutely ways to finance health care equitably that will be better for everybody in this state, so I just hope that these committees are going to take that seriously and figure out how to move that ahead,” said Kate Kanelstein, the group’s lead organizer.
Ellen Shwartz, president of VWC’s coordinating committee, acknowledged that saying health care should be treated as a public good is “a statement of principle,” and that making that a reality is difficult. Her group is prepared to do more than share its philosophy, and has prepared detailed financing proposals for legislators in the past. They will release a new plan that incorporates the information in the governor’s report soon, she said.
The governor cribbed that principle, at least rhetorically, in his budget address later in the day when he too referred to health care as a public good. But the Workers’ Center dismissed Shumlin’s $82.8 million health care package in a statement calling it his proposal “band-aid” measures financed with a “regressive” payroll tax.
The Workers’ Center renewed its call for a public hearing by Jan. 29, “at time when working folks can participate.” With only two work weeks left in the month, they said it would be good to have a date sooner rather than later.
“If in the event no public hearing occurs we call on our community to come here on January 29 to demonstrate the enormous amount of Vermonters that support the Health Care as a Human Right campaign,” said Anna Gebhardt, one of its members.
