Health Reform Threatens Voluntary Charitable Action | Catholic Exchange

Health Reform Threatens Voluntary Charitable Action | Catholic Exchange: "As the health care debate moves to the U.S. Senate, much of the news coverage and commentary in recent days has focused on the advocacy of Catholic bishops and how their support of Rep. Bart Stupak’s amendment to prohibit the use of tax dollars to fund abortion was a major victory for the pro-life side. The bishops urged the House of Representatives, through local parishes and in a Nov. 6 letter, to ensure that “needed health care reform legislation truly protects the life, dignity, health and consciences of all.' All people of good will, all those who value human life and dignity, should cheer this development.

But there’s more to this health care juggernaut that should give us reason to oppose it in its present form. We should all firstly be concerned with the vast expansion of government reach into the private lives of millions of Americans under the proposal put forward by this administration and its supporters in Congress.

This “reform” will create a system that will put bureaucrats in charge of personal health care decisions — not doctors. It will give the federal government an avenue to nationalize more than 15 percent of the U.S. economy, thus putting bureaucrats and elected officials in the role of manager and regulator — much as we’ve seen in banking and automobiles. Amazingly, with the push for a $1 trillion plus health care package and the attendant debt, we may soon see Canada with lower government spending (as a percent of GDP ) on heath care than the United States! All this, too is a threat to human dignity.

What will this heavy burden of government spending and regulation have on U.S. health care innovation and competitiveness, which has to date pioneered so many advances? How many medical research and development firms would leave our shores under threat of higher taxes and increased regulation?"