Font ResizeBy Eric D. Nelson
Health care reform is now law, but the question remains as to whether any upcoming “fixes” to this landmark legislation should include a provision for spiritual care and treatment. Because the goal has always been to include all Americans within a comprehensive insurance program - and because of the growing demand of this very type of care - the answer must be yes.
Even though spiritual care and treatment isn't most people's choice for health care, there are still many Californians who have found it to be an effective means for restoring and maintaining health. Those who practice it and who buy health care insurance, as will soon be required by law, deserve to have the options for reimbursement that every other citizen has.
For me, as a practicing Christian Scientist, this would mean reimbursement - to me as an individual, not to any church - of some of the costs associated with spiritual care. This includes fees paid to self-employed Christian Science practitioners and nurses, as well as physical care at privately owned Christian Science nursing facilities, all of which are available to the general public.
One of the concerns that comes up when this subject is discussed is, “Why should the government be paying for prayer?” A fair question, to be sure. And one that deserves an answer. Simply put, proponents for spiritual care are not asking the government to pay for anything. Nor are they asking the government to endorse what some consider to be nothing more than a religious ritual, - having little, if anything, to do with health care.
The option to choose spiritual care is just that: an option for a safe, reliable, and effective means of treating physical ailments. The big difference is that it's a mental means of treatment, not a medical one.
For the record, over the past 140 years, those who have relied on Christian Science for their health care have been cured of everything from everyday aches and pains to heart disease, tuberculosis, AIDS, and cancer. Thousands of these cases have been verified; many of them medically diagnosed.
As I see it, there are at least two reasons for our nation's health care system to accommodate more than just one form of treatment. For one, even though medical care is the preferred choice for the majority of people, it's obviously not meeting the needs of everyone all the time. Second, because other systems of care - including prayer-based treatment as taught and practiced in Christian Science - have proven to be consistently effective.
It's essential that our healthcare system honor the individual's ability to discern and determine what's best for him or her - to choose and, if necessary, to be reimbursed for whatever responsible form of healthcare they've found to be most reliable. Not only will this benefit the individual in need but our healthcare system as a whole.
Eric Nelson serves as the media and legislative spokesperson for Christian Science in Northern California with offices in Hayword.
