Health Care as a Social Good: Religious Values and American Democracy

The acrimonious debate over heath care in America has grown even more combative as the Affordable Care Act begins implementation. Conservatives advocate a market approach to private choice; liberals view health care as a public right. But achieving lasting reform, contends David Craig, will require Americans to better understand the current system that exists and the values that undergird it. Given the influential role of religious nonprofits in the US health care system, Craig argues that religious voices are essential to this conversation, and his research is grounded in over one hundred interviews with members of religious heath care organizations. The book makes two significant contributions: First, it clarifies and summaries arguments about health care and the economic and political forces driving the discussion. Second, it articulates values to aid our thinking about health care, values compatible with the Judeo-Christian tradition: community, solidarity, and social justice. US health care requires social action toward a more community-based system, Craig claims, and these religious values are vital to this transformation.