This Week:

Quote of the Week

Health Care Outrage of the Week: “I Think We Missed This One”

A Pastoral Letter on Racism

Greetings,

I have arbitrarily declared January to be “Health Care Month” in the pages of Nygaard Notes. Maybe it’s simply because I have had so much experience with the health care system lately, and I have so many stories to tell. Or, maybe it’s because we are entering a presidential election year and I see health care as one of the most important and exciting issues for organizers and others to grab a hold of as the campaign goes on. Who knows?

Anyhow, after I read this week’s Health Care Outrage of the Week, I realized that I paint a pretty bleak picture, which could be depressing to people who don’t know already how bleak the picture is. Since causing people to be depressed is about the last thing I want to do, next week I will have some information about just a few of the very positive and hopeful things that people—people like you and me, not the Big Boys!—are doing to bring about genuine change in the world of health care. That should be good.

On the inspirational side this week, I quote extensively from a wonderful letter on racism, coming from the local hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The Archbishop appears to “gets it,” and his words are clear and simple. I hope Minnesota can breed and develop more like him.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Nygaard

"Quote" of the Week:

Two “quotes” this week. They go together well.

“Quote” #1:

The lead paragraph from a Los Angeles Times article of September 30, 2003:

“The share of Americans without health insurance increased last year by the largest amount in a decade,
bringing the total number without coverage to 43.6 million, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.”

“Quote” #2:

From the Associated Press (reprinted in the Star Tribune) on January 9, 2004:

“The United States spends more per person than any other developed nation, according to the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. For 2001, America spent 47 percent
more per person than Switzerland, the second biggest spender per capita, the OECD said.”

Note: Switzerland has no uninsured people since, like all other wealthy countries in the world except the USA, they have a national system of universal health care.

Health Care Outrage of the Week: “I Think We Missed This One”

Last week I talked about getting my eyes examined and how that simple preventive health care that is no longer paid for by my “health plan.” A few weeks before I got that $100-out-of-pocket exam, the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) ran a story headlined “MinnesotaCare Benefit Cuts Hit Diabetics Especially Hard; Blood-Sugar Testing Costs Go Way Up.” This November 25th story shows that the cutbacks in MinnesotaCare coverage are affecting many other Minnesotans even more seriously than they are affecting me.

It turns out that the October 1st budget cuts imposed on the MNCare program eliminated coverage for the glucose test strips that diabetic people use to check their blood sugar levels, as well as the syringes and needles that are used to control this very serious disease. The strips can cost up to $100 per month, and the necessary syringes and needles impose additional costs. The article points out that

“The loss of coverage comes at a time when the country is experiencing a diabetes epidemic. Incidence of the disease increased 50 percent between 1995 and 1999, according to the state Health Department.”

The Star Trib went on to point out that “State officials say that while the reduction in coverage will be tough for many, the alternative would have been far worse. Jim Chase, director of Health Purchasing for the state Human Services Department, said last year's projected state budget deficits forced the changes. ‘We had the choice between this and no coverage at all,’ he said. ‘This seemed better.’” He refrained from commenting on the “No New Taxes” pledge that brought about the need for such an outrageous “choice.”

According to Dr. Richard Bergenstal of the International Diabetes Center at Park Nicollet, who “trains doctors around the world in the finer points of diabetes control,” these cutbacks could turn out to be expensive for everyone. As the Star Trib puts it:

“Bergenstal and others involved in diabetes care are bracing for a surge in medical emergencies brought on by the lack of monitoring. The combination, Bergenstal predicted, likely will wipe out any savings achieved by eliminating coverage of supplies.”

The Star Trib spoke with Rep. Fran Bradley, Republican of Rochester, finance chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, who “was among those who pushed through the package of changes that shaved state health care costs over two years. The medical supplies change, he said, ‘has nuances that I have to admit I didn't think about at the time. I think we missed this one.’

Readers, please take a moment here to ponder an elected official who would “push through” a bill with provisions that endanger the lives of unknown numbers of his constituents and then have the nerve to say later that those provisions are things that he “didn't think about at the time.” This is reminiscent of the Senate Counsel’s comment that I shared last week, that “I don’t think there was, really, a rationale” for many of these changes. There is a pattern here, no?

I’ll give the last word on this to Diane Tomoson, one of the diabetics interviewed by reporter Patricia Lopez for the article. She told Lopez that, even with the changes, she'll keep MinnesotaCare and continue paying the premiums, which have gone up. Then she added,

“I guess the government works for the big guys. The first thing they cut are what little guys need the most. The thing is, if you get sick, you can't work, either. And I've got to work.”

Next week: Some hopeful news about people who are doing something about health care!

A Pastoral Letter on Racism

This week, as we celebrate the birth of the great Martin Luther King, I thought it would be appropriate to feature some words from a remarkable document issued this past September by the Catholic Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Harry Flynn. The document is called a “Pastoral Letter on Racism” and is remarkable, I think, partly for what it says (which I will quote at some length below), and partly for who said it. Like King, Flynn seems to understand that his faith is intimately connected to deeds in the world, and calls his followers to look inside for the strength of soul to “fulfill the challenge of the Gospel.” Also like MLK, Flynn is clear that the struggle against racism must always be a part of a larger struggle for “basic economic and social rights for all people.”

I, myself, was raised part-time in the Catholic religion (my father was Protestant, so for some years as a child I had to attend both churches in my small town). Perhaps that’s partly why this letter struck me so deeply. But it also struck me deeply due to the fact that the Archbishop—a Caucasian, male, well educated, middle class person—is using his powerful position to make a clear and unambiguous call to 800,000 mostly-white Catholics in the archdiocese. It’s hopeful to imagine what might happen if even a small percentage of these Catholic parishes take to heart his wish that “every parish will take specific steps to establish a process whereby parish members can meet and discuss issues of race and cultural diversity,” and his exhortation that “all of the priests of the archdiocese...preach frequently and pointedly about this issue.”

The Archbishop’s letter got a little bit of notice in the press in my state of Minnesota, but has not been the subject of as much discussion as I think it deserves. Some of the letter is clearly addressed to Catholics only (speaking of Church business and so forth). But I think any Minnesotan would benefit from reading this letter. The rest of this article is a selection of quotations from the pastoral letter.

On Personal and Institutional Racism:

“Racism takes many forms, but at its core it is a personal and social disorder rooted in the assumption that one race is superior to another... In one way or another, racism affects all of us.

“Some have given racism the working definition of ‘prejudice with power.’ In this sense, it involves not only prejudice, but also the use of social, economic, and political power to keep one race in a privileged position and to exclude others.

“I believe that two broad types of racism need to be recognized and resisted: individual and institutional. Individual racism is evident when a person adopts attitudes or takes actions that are based on the assumption of racial superiority. Such attitudes and actions violate the rights and dignity of other people because of race.

“A second type of racism is institutional or structural. This type of racism exists where patterns of racial superiority are embedded in the systems and institutions of society. Such racism is less blatant and more complex, but it exists nonetheless. It is present wherever systems and institutions are created and maintained in such a way that they provide privilege or prejudice for one race over others. This type of racism can be seen, to varying degrees, in many of our social, economic, and political structures...

On Social Location and Racism:

“I write this letter from my own perspective, that of a Caucasian, male, well educated, middle class Church official. My perceptions about racism are rooted in this reality of my own experience. As we reflect on the sin of racism, I believe that each of us should be conscious of our social location and the influence that it has on how we think about differences among people.

On Blatant and Subtle Racism:

“It has been my observation that racism in Minnesota is no less real and no less serious than that which I experienced in Louisiana. However, racism here is sometimes more subtle, less blatant. It might take the form of ignoring or turning a cold shoulder to people of color, rather than saying overtly, “I don’t shake hands with people of your type.” Racism here is often more indirect and less open.

On White Responsibility:

“I sometimes hear remarks from community or parish leaders who say, ‘We’re not racist. We don’t have a problem here.’ As sincere as these remarks might be, I believe they are based on lack of awareness, on ignorance. For racism is a fact of life in our region, as evidenced by the daily experiences of the Latino, African American, Native American, Asian, and African people who are a part of our community. This racism hurts all of us—not only people of color, but also hurts people in the dominant culture.

“There is a tendency on the part of some people to say, “I am not prejudiced. I am not a racist. I did not cause or contribute to the racial injustices of the past. Therefore, I am not responsible for racism today. There is nothing I can do.” This view is unfortunate and morally inadequate, because it fails to take into consideration the social nature of the sin of racism. It fails to see that racism is not merely a personal sin, but also a structural sin. It is a social reality for which all members of society are responsible. As the U.S. bishops have written, ‘The absence of personal fault for an evil does not absolve one of all responsibility. We must seek to resist and undo injustices we have not caused, lest we become bystanders who tacitly endorse evil and so share in guilt for it.’

On Racism and the Soul:

“[Racism] is a social evil in which we all share and from which we all suffer. If we are to grow spiritually as individuals and socially as a community, then we all need to do more to come to grips with the sin of racism in our own hearts and within the institutions that make up our church and our society.

“For our own spiritual development, it is important that each of us come to understand that loving only people who are just like ourselves, loving only those who share our own ethnic or cultural background does not adequately fulfill the challenge of the Gospel. All of us are called to develop a sense of solidarity with our neighbors who are racially and culturally distinct from us.

On Solidarity and Racism:

“Fighting racism in society requires that we go beyond addressing policies and practices that deal explicitly with matters of race and ethnicity. It also requires that we in the white community work in solidarity with people of color to secure for all people the basic economic and social rights that flow from human dignity. We need to stand side by side with people of color in working for better access to health care for the poor, better affordable housing policies, more just wages and working conditions, and more political power for those who are now disenfranchised.”

I recommend reading the whole speech, especially if you are Catholic and live in the state of Minnesota. You can find it online at: http://www.archspm.org/html/pastoral.html. Click on “In God’s Image – Archbishop Flynn’s Pastoral Letter on Racism.” You’ll need Adobe Acrobat software to view the document. If you prefer, call 651-291-4400 and have them mail you a copy.