On Your Behalf—March 2009

Hands-On Health Care

Almost daily, we are faced with health care issues. Our health is affected by the stress we face at home, school or work; by the anxieties caused by uncertain economic times; and by the personal decisions we make about our diet, physical activity and personal habits. In our communities, there are questions regarding the adequacy of health care facilities, the cost of health care services and the availability of health care insurance. In addition, our nation – along with other developed nations around the world – is facing a growing obesity epidemic that threatens the health of future generations. At the same time, many developing nations experience widespread disease and malnutrition and struggle to provide their populations with adequate food, water and medicine.

Taken together, these issues may seem overwhelming, but when faced with significant challenges, we need to remember that many hands make the work lighter. Several United Methodist-related organizations, including the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits (General Board), the General Board of Church and Society, the General Board of Global Ministries and United Methodist Communications, are seeking to address these various health issues.

The Social Principles recognize good health as a personal responsibility: “Stewardship of health is the responsibility of each person to whom health has been entrusted...We encourage individuals to pursue a healthy lifestyle and affirm the importance of preventive health care, health education, environmental and occupational safety, good nutrition, and secure housing in achieving health.” (¶162V) Health care, however, is much more than a personal concern. “Health care,” according to the Social Principles, “is a basic human right. Providing the care needed to maintain health, prevent disease, and restore health after injury or illness is a responsibility each person owes others and government owes to all, a responsibility government ignores at its peril… We believe it is a governmental responsibility to provide all citizens with health care.” (¶162)

For many years, in keeping with Church teachings, the General Board has engaged companies on health-related issues. We have encouraged pharmaceutical companies such as Wyeth, Merck, Pfizer and Eli Lilly, to report details on their programs to provide HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis medications to impoverished or marginalized communities. The Church believes that making these medications affordable and available where they are most needed is a matter of justice. There are sound economic reasons, however, for doing so as well. Companies refusing to make life-saving medications more widely available and affordable risk a significant loss of reputation – and revenue. Other multinational companies, such as ExxonMobil, operating in places around the world where outbreaks of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis can devastate local populations, face serious worker productivity and availability risks. Not planning for such outbreaks can potentially harm future profitability.

The General Board also has encouraged companies to report on their health care-related employee benefits. In 2004, the General Board submitted resolutions to American International Group (AIG) and ExxonMobil calling on each to submit reports on how health care benefits were administered to their employees, specifically in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Such reports provide a springboard for dialogue using important health care provision standards, such as those promoted by the Church and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a faith-based investor organization. The General Board also supports the health care-related shareholder resolutions submitted by investor colleagues when these resolutions align with the Church’s Social Principles.

In keeping with the Church’s position found in Resolution 3201, Health Care for All in the United States, the General Board encourages companies to “provide a comprehensive health care delivery system that includes access for all, quality care, and effective management of costs.” Concerned investors believe that inadequate planning for health-care issues and rising health care costs can strain a company’s finances and erode shareholder value.

In addition to shareholder advocacy, the General Board has been instrumental in the creation of the Center for Health, a wide-ranging initiative encouraging personal wellness. Created as a result of concerns raised at both the 2004 and the 2008 General Conferences, the Center for Health serves several purposes:

• to cultivate a holistic awareness and interaction of physical, emotional, spiritual, social and financial health,
• to conduct research within the Church on the current health of clergy while assessing the health risks associated with being a UMC clergyperson, and
• to initiate programs that will encourage clergy to embrace healthy disciplines.

The General Board of Church and Society plays an instrumental role in the Church by advocating for quality and accessible health care for all in the United States. It does this by advocating for a fair and equitable national health plan. It also works to protect the building blocks of universal health care (Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Health, etc) and to promote the Health Care Justice Sabbath Program, a program that encourages congregations to choose a Sunday on which to reflect on issues of health and wholeness.

The General Board of Global Ministries “facilitates the prevention, treatment, and advocacy of health issues globally. Its far-reaching programs provide improved opportunities for health and wholeness not just to individuals, but to entire communities.” One of its most well-known programs, The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), plays a significant role in addressing HIV/AIDS and malaria. Global Ministries also supports local churches and communities in financing, staffing and maintaining health clinics in uninsured or under-insured communities.

Through the Global Health Initiative, United Methodist Communications has played a significant role in fighting malaria throughout the world. As a major partner in the Nothing But Nets program, a grass-roots initiative to provide anti-malaria bed nets throughout Africa, the communications agency has helped educate and inspire United Methodist churches and conferences to participate in this unique and popular endeavor.

There are many issues to address when we approach our personal, community, national and global health care. These four agencies of the Church address issues of health care from many vantage points. This diversity of approaches within the Church allows us to provide hands of mercy and compassion to many people in many places.