Continuing our discussion of the health care system, I recently interviewed my former professor and colleague, Dr. David Jones, Emeritus Professor of Theology and Ethics, Covenant Theological Seminary.

PROBE: Thank you, Dr. Jones, for your willingness to help the readers of P.R.O.B.E. to think biblically about the current national discussion of healthcare. Let me ask you a few questions that are on my mind, and then if you have any other thoughts on the subject we would greatly benefit from your insights.

Response: OK. I’ll give it my best shot. As always with the prayer, “Lord, open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things out of your law. Lead us forth in your truth and teach us, for you are our God and our hope is in you.” My responses are offered in a spirit of being engaged with you in how we should practice the truth that is in Jesus.

PROBE: News services typically introduce the topic as a “health care crisis.” Some pundits say we do not have a health care crisis but a health cost crisis while others say it is a health crisis. What kind of crisis, if any, do you believe we have in America?

Response: Well, I think it’s pretty clear that we have a political crisis, with the people and the politicians sharing the blame. We all know that health insurance became attached to the workplace as a result of wage and price controls during World War II as a non-taxable benefit. The government entitlement programs (Medicare, 1955; Medicaid, 1966; Medicare Rx, 2006) are not sustainable without either raising taxes or reducing benefits, but there is not the political will to do either. Efforts to decouple health care from employment have been vigorously resisted though it seems clear that it is one of the main drivers of escalating health care costs. I claim no particular expertise in this area, but it appears that the unbounded deficit spending is a significant drag on the economy, which in turn results in increased numbers of unemployed and thus uninsured. There is a further difficulty in that the entitlement mentality on the part of the people is subject to exploitation on the part of politicians dependent on campaign contributions who seek to shelter their favored constituencies.