Martin Luther King, if he had been given the time, must eventually have tackled the health care issue as an essential civil right.  As a nation, we’ve focused so much on the tactics and details—public options, mandates, “Cadillac plans” and so on—that we may be forgetting why increasing health care accessibility is important to us as a nation.

So this is just a reminder for all of us: without health care, personal growth and success are limited indeed.  Children with sensory or behavioral problems are not treated, or whose simple illnesses are not cared for, cannot learn.  Adults with a chronic disease (like diabetes or asthma) can earn a living—but only if they have the care and medications they need.  Families that lose a parent to a disease that could have been cured if caught earlier, suffer consequences that can hardly be measured – stability, opportunity, potential.

If we are serious about equal opportunity, education, stable families, social justice at any level, we must embrace health care accessibility as an essential civil right.

CareSource is among the largest non-profit, public sector health plans in America with a scalable model ideal for health care reform.

2 Responses to “Health Reform is a Civil Rights Issue”

1. Dick Chelten says:

   January 18, 2010 at 3:53 pm

   Nicely stated. It seems to me that many folks who have been given health insurance as an employee benefit, are turning their backs on others who have no coverage or have lost both coverage and jobs.
   “I’ve got mine; you get yours” shouldn’t be our nation’s answer to the health care crisis.

   Instead, folks with coverage should be reminded to “Walk a mile in my shoes” before stepping on those measures designed to assist those not fortunate enough to be employed and covered.
2. Angelica says:

   January 29, 2010 at 11:24 am

   The biggest civil rights issue at this time is that we are not protecting the rights of the most vulnerable among us. A person is a person no matter how small. Martin Luther Kings stated that If one person has no rights, none of us have rights. Listen to Dr. Alveta King, Dr. Martin Luther Kings neice. Listen to what she says, if he were alive today he would be out there speaking for the rights of the unborn to live. Listen to the stories of the women in “silent no more” and look at the “preists for life” web site and decide, what kind of care women deserve. Women deserve better than abortion. Abortion is not healthcare, and as nurses and doctors we have a right to act according to our consciences. These are the things that I beg you to make sure are a part of this healthcare reform. Yes, I want care for all. I volunteer my time and talents to take care of those who fall through the cracks. Yes, I am for the life and better life for everyone, just don’t leave out the smallest of our people and leave us to our consciences, give us a choice to go by our conscience. Please also, advocate for openess and transparency in the plan, so we all know what we are voting for. Also, please advocate for those we voted for, to listen to the people that have elected them.

Author : Toni Bigby

Consumer Advocacy at CareSource Over 11 years of experience working with Ohio’s Medicaid program promoting the importance and availability of health care coverage for Ohio’s underserved populations; Responsible for working with statewide consumer advocacy groups to advance key initiatives to provide value-added benefits to CareSource members; Charged with engaging members to bring their voice to the forefront to inform internal business operations