As President Barack Obama delivered his first State of the Union address on Jan. 27, 2010, religious groups that support health care reform were pressing the White House and Congress to continue to try to pass a comprehensive overhaul. Prospects for that dimmed considerably with the Republican victory in Massachusetts’ Senate election Jan. 19.

Scott Brown’s victory in the Massachusetts special election gives Republicans 41 seats in the U.S. Senate, which means they could filibuster any Democratic reform bill, which they have pledged to do.

But in the wake of that result, religious leaders who have invested months of work into lobbying for universal health care coverage — a goal of many religious groups for decades — exhorted the president and Congress to push ahead with reform, and they pledged their support for the effort.

On Tuesday, the Catholic bishops of the United States sent a letter to all members of the House and Senate asking Congress to put politics aside and focus on the “moral imperative” of passing universal health care. “The health care debate, with all its political and ideological conflict, seems to have lost its central moral focus and policy priority, which is to ensure that affordable, quality, life-giving care is available to all,” the bishops wrote.

On Wednesday, hours before Obama’s State of the Union speech, nearly two dozen religious leaders from various faith traditions sent a letter to the president urging him to push for health care reform and framing  it in moral terms: “We implore you to make it plain to all Americans that the decisions of Congress have moral consequences. Lawmakers are closer than ever before to passing this critically needed legislation. Letting this life-line lapse for so many Americans now would be a failure of historic proportions.”

Religious groups have already become involved in the contentious health insurance reform debate to an unprecedented degree — though often with competing agendas.

Those who support health care reform say it is a moral imperative to extend more affordable health coverage to more people, and the biblical language that has been employed by Obama and faith leaders reinforces the idea of health care reform as fulfilling a biblical injunction.

But other religious voices, often speaking from a conservative perspective, have raised concerns about health care reform and in particular the programs being championed by Obama and in congressional committees. A concern for those who oppose abortion is whether increased public access to health care services might in any way promote or fund abortion with public money.

The scale of the problem and of the proposed solutions and the depth of the moral concerns on both sides have sparked intense and increasingly fierce disputes. Opposition to change has manifested itself most visibly and vocally at town hall meetings; opponents fear government intrusion into health care decisions and are skeptical about the costs.

This edition of ReligionLink provides a guide to the major players and religious voices in the debate and resources for covering it.

WHY IT MATTERS

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the number of uninsured increased to 46.3 million in 2008, from 45.7 million in 2007. Religious leaders see a number of moral principles involved in health care. Those who support reform say affordable access to care is a moral imperative. Religious opponents of reform fear that it will enlarge access to abortion and that it could restrict care for the most vulnerable. Since the goal of health insurance reform is to improve access to care and give it to those who don’t now have it, whatever happens will affect virtually every American.

BACKGROUND

• The Pew Forum published an Oct. 2, 2009, analysis, “Health Care: Politics in the Pews,” looking at the two main coalitions of religious groups on opposing sides of the issue.
• View a variety of recent polls about health insurance reform at PollingReport.com.
• In his Jan. 27, 2010 State of the Union address (text here) the president pledged to keep fighting for health care reform, though it remained unclear how he and the Democrats would be able to pass a bill.
• Compare those remarks with the nationally televised address to Congress on health care (text here) that the president delivered on Sept. 9, 2009, which opened a major new front in a tough fight to develop and pass a reform package.
• On Aug. 19, 2009, a national call-in on health care reform that featured Obama was sponsored by a coalition of more than two dozen religious groups. The call-in was part of a 40 Days for Health Reform campaign designed to raise public awareness and put pressure on select congressional representatives to support health insurance reform.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services makes the case for health care reform at its Web site HealthReform.gov.
• The Washington Post has a page with the latest developments on the various proposals and the president’s address.
• Read an Aug. 9, 2009, New York Times primer on health care reform proposals.
• Listen to an audio recording of the Aug. 19 conference call with Obama and faith leaders.
• Read an Aug. 18, 2009, Religion News Service story, “Churches step into health care debate.”
• Read an Aug. 10, 2009, Christian Science Monitor guide to principal features of health insurance reform proposals.
• Factcheck.org offers analysis of television advertising about health care reform proposals.
• Read influential evangelical Brian McLaren’s blog post addressing conservative Christians on the subject of health care.

National sources

INDIVIDUALS

• Richard Cizik, former vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, is organizing a new association called the New Evangelicals, which is among those backing the 40 Days for Health Reform campaign. Contact rcizik@aol.com.
• Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; an analysis of proposed reform by the commission concludes that the bill would lead to fewer health care choices and more government intrusion. Contact 615-782-8417.
• Leonard J. Nelson III is a professor at the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University and an affiliated scholar with the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. He is a specialist in health care law and author of the 2009 book Diagnosis Critical: The Urgent Threats Confronting Catholic Healthcare. He says Catholic bishops face a dilemma: They support greater access to health care as a matter of social justice, but increased access to health care will bring with it increased demand for a full range of reproductive health services. Contact 205-726-2410, ljnelson@samford.edu.
• James R. Thobaben, a professor of church in society at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., is author of a new volume, Health-Care Ethics: A Comprehensive Christian Resource. The work focuses on evangelical Christian views on health care policy. Contact through the main switchboard at 859-858-3581.
• Garland F. Pierce heads the National Council of Churches’ Health Task Force staff; the task force assists members with health care ministries. Council General Secretary Michael Kinnamon was among the signatories of a letter from religious leaders calling for health care reform. Contact 212-870-2267, gpierce@nccusa.org.
• David Saperstein is director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C. The center is involved in the 40 Days for Health Reform coalition. Contact 202-387-2800.
• Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and is an advocate of a single-payer system, as he wrote in a July 14, 2009, article in The Christian Century titled “Health-Care Fix.” Contact  212-280-1387, gdorrien@uts.columbia.edu.
• Sayyid M. Syeed is secretary-general of the Islamic Society of North America and has taken part in a number of interfaith groups supporting health care reform. ISNA is one of the sponsors of the 40 Days for Health Reform campaign. Contact 317-839-8157 ext. 812, syeeds@isna.net.

ORGANIZATIONS

• Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is one of the leaders on health care reform. Victoria Kovari is acting executive director, and Jennifer Goff is chief operating and communications officer. Contact 202-429-9680.
• Cover the Uninsured is a nonpartisan campaign to focus attention on the need to secure health coverage for all Americans and is organized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a diverse group of labor, health care, charitable and religious groups. Its Web site offers statistics, research and summaries of pending legislation. Contact 877-655-2889.
• Faith in Public Life helped to launch the 40 Days for Health Reform campaign. Contact Katie Paris, kparis@faithinpubliclife.org, or Kristin Williams, 202-459-8625.
• The Family Research Council has produced a television ad that ran in five states saying that a “government health care takeover” would pay for abortions and deny care to those who need it. FRC President Tony Perkins has been a visible and vocal opponent of current health care reform proposals. Media contacts are J.P. Duffy or Maria Donovan, 866-372-6397.
• Focus on the Family’s Action Center arm CitizenLink.com is asking people to tell their representatives to exclude abortion services from health care reform. Focus also lists Family Policy Councils in many states. Gary Schneeberger is vice president for media and public relations at CitizenLink, 866-655-4545.
• The National Association of Evangelicals wrote a July 21 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking that health reform explicitly exclude abortion. Galen Carey is director of government affairs. Contact 202-789-1011.
• The National Right to Life Committee is concerned that health care reform will expand access to abortion and ration access to care. Media contact is Derrick Jones, 202-626-8825, mediarelations@nrlc.org.
• PICO National Network is one of the leaders of the 40 Days for Health Reform campaign. Gordon Whitman is director of public policy and communications. Contact 866-550-7426 ext. 713.
• Jim Wallis and his organization Sojourners are among the pro-reform forces. Contact press secretary Jason Gedeik, 202-745-4633.
• The Universal Health Care Action Network is an education and advocacy group working to provide comprehensive health care for all Americans. Its comprehensive Web site links to other health care reform campaigns, including Faithful Reform in Health Care. Contact UHCAN executive director Rachel DeGolia in Cleveland, 216-241-8422 ext. 14.
• The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in a July 17 letter to members of Congress and the White House that “health care reform should be truly universal and it should be genuinely affordable.” The conference wrote in an Aug. 11 letter that one version of reform legislation under consideration included “unacceptable features” permitting abortion funding. Contact through USCCB media relations, 202-541-3200.

ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH

• Drew Altman is president and CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, which specializes in health care issues. One focus of the foundation is health reform; a July poll registers both support for and doubts about health care reform as debate intensifies. Read an analysis by Altman about differences in public and expert perceptions of the current American health care system. Contact the foundation at its Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters, through communications vice president Rakesh Singh, 650-854-9400, or through Washington, D.C.,-based director of communications Craig Palosky, 202-347-5270.
• The State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota provides information and analysis about health insurance coverage with state-by-state profiles. Contact 612-624-4802.
• The U.S. Census Bureau provides data on the uninsured, including breakdowns by age, race, sex and state.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Stuart Altman is the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. He is an economist whose research interests are primarily in federal and state health policy. Contact 781-736-3803, altman@brandeis.edu.
• David Cutler is an economics professor at Harvard University. He wrote the book Your Money or Your Life: Strong Medicine for America’s Healthcare System, which looks at issues involving access to health care. Contact 617-496-5216, dcutler@harvard.fas.edu.
• Jonathan Gruber is an economics professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He advised the Obama campaign in 2008 about health care, and The Washington Post has called him the Democratic Party’s most influential health care expert. He testified May 12 before the Senate Finance Committee about financing health care reform. Contact 617-253-8892, gruberj@mit.edu.
• Jacob S. Hacker is the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University and a Resident Fellow at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies. He edited Health at Risk: America’s Ailing Health System – and How to Heal It. Contact 203-432-5554, jacob.hacker@yale.edu.

IN THE EAST

• Abigail Rian Evans is the Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J. She wrote Redeeming Marketplace Medicine: A Theology of Health Care. Contact 609-497-7972, abigail.evans@ptsem.edu.
• Mark Pauly is the Bendheim Professor of health care management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is an expert on medical economics, health policy and health insurance. Contact 215-898-2838, pauly@wharton.upenn.edu.
• George P. Smith II is a law professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His specialty is bioethics and health law; he has taught internationally. Contact 202-319-5140, smithg@law.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• William Custer is an associate professor at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business in Atlanta. He is an expert in employee benefits, health care financing and health insurance. Contact 404-413-7636, wcuster@gsu.edu.
• B. Andrew Lustig is the Holmes Rolston III Professor of Religion and Science at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. His specialties include bioethics and religion and science. He was staff ethicist for Gov. Mario Cuomo’s New York State Task Force on Life and the Law. Contact 704-894-2891, anlustig@davidson.edu.
• Ken Thorpe is Robert W. Woodruff professor and chair of the health policy and management department at Emory University in Atlanta. He is an expert in health care financing, insurance and health care reform. Contact 404-727-3373, kthorpe@sph.emory.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• The Alabama Policy Institute has produced a video on health care reform that warns of waits and rationing of care. Contact David Sawyer, director of communications and programs, at 205-914-9428, davids@alabamapolicy.org.
• Larry Churchill is a professor of medical ethics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a professor at the graduate department of religion at the Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn. An expert on the justice and allocation of health care resources, he wrote Self-Interest and Universal Health Care: Why Well-Insured Americans Should Support Coverage for Everyone. Contact 615-936-2686, larry.churchill@vanderbilt.edu.
• Nicole Ravenell is president and CEO for the Southern Institute on Children and Families, based in South Carolina but with affiliates throughout the South. The institute is a nonprofit organization that works with business leaders to try to improve children’s quality of life, including access to health care. Ravenell is a public policy expert. Contact 803-779-2607.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Colleen Grogan is co-chair of the Center for Health Administration Studies at the University of Chicago. She is an expert on health policy and health politics. Contact 773-834-3907, cgrogan@uchicago.edu.
• M. Cathleen Kaveny is the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame. She focuses on the relationship of law and morality. Contact 574-631-7844, M.Cathleen.Kaveny.1@nd.edu.
• Tim McBride is a professor and associate dean for public health at George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. He focuses his research on Medicare reform, the uninsured and insurance markets, rural health and long-term care. Contact 314-935-4356, tmcbride@wustl.edu.
• Catherine McLaughlin directed the Economic Research Initiative on the Uninsured at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The six-year-long initiative conducted research on health insurance coverage. McLaughlin is an expert on health care economics. Contact 734-764-9335, cmcl@umich.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. is a philosophy professor at Rice University in Houston and an expert on bioethics. His current research interests include rights and responsibilities in health care. Contact 713-348-2491, htengelh@rice.edu.
• Sara Jarrett is a professor of nursing at Regis University in Denver and a member of the Colorado Nurses Association – Government Affairs and Public Policy Committee. The nurses association voted in 2005 to support single-payer universal health care. Jarrett’s work focuses on health care access for the poor. Contact 303-458-4082, sjarrett@regis.edu.
• Dr. Arthur Kaufman is vice president for community health at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. His primary interests are in creating innovative education and service models to address health needs. Contact through the clinic, 505-272-1936.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Alain C. Enthoven is a professor emeritus at the Center for Health Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research at Stanford University. His research focuses on financing and delivery of health care in the United States. Contact 650-723-0641, enthoven_alain@gsb.stanford.edu.
• Helen Ann Halpin is director of the Center for Health and Public Policy Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She is an expert on access to health insurance and health care reform. Contact 510-642-2862, helenhs@berkeley.edu.