RJ Blog

Last month, the Obama Administration announced that youth who are eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival status would not qualify for benefits extended under the Affordable Care Act. This excludes these young immigrants from accessing crucial preventative services, acquiring health care through the new exchanges, or receiving assistance from federal programs such as Medicaid or CHIP. Earlier today, Rabbi David Saperstein submitted his comments on this regulation, urging the Administration to reconsider this misguided policy. He wrote:

My husband Michael and I were big fans of the television show The West Wing. One could say that we watched it religiously. In the summer of 2001, one of the prominent storylines coursing through the weekly series was about President Jed Bartlet’s struggle with multiple sclerosis. It was while watching the show one night that summer that I turned to Michael and said, “Maybe I have multiple sclerosis.” For a number of months, I had not been feeling “like myself.” I was often bone-wearingly tired. When I looked down, stretching my neck, it felt like electric shocks were coursing [...]

The Jewish community tends to think of October as the month to recuperate from the High Holy Days, but October is also the National Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health and mental health coverage are critical issues for millions of Americans, but there are a number of overlooked issues including the serious mental health concerns confronting the LGBT community. These issues may be frequently neglected in mental health discussions because of the risk of suggesting that queerness is, in itself, a mental illness or necessarily leads to mental illness. Most famously, the American Psychiatric Association listed “homosexuality” as a mental [...]

On Thursday, July 19th, Rabbis Rick Jacobs, Steve Fox, and David Saperstein joined thirteen other leaders of the Reform Jewish Movement for a meeting at the White House with Chief of Staff Jack Lew. Among the domestic and international topics discussed were Israel’s security and well being, the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans. The White House meeting also included representation from the Reconstructionist Movement. The meeting, which included leaders from the Reform Movement’s congregational, rabbinic and seminary arms, as well as URJ Board members and rabbis from congregations across the U.S., [...]

There is a growing fervor among conservative legislators and citizens that they were wronged by the vote of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on the constitutionality of Obama’s health care legislation. There are recent reports that Justice Roberts initially held an opposing opinion before changing his vote and upholding the individual mandate, which is the central tenet of the new health care law. I find the vitriol directed at Justice Roberts to be both misguided and undermining to the court’s standing in our political process.

The Supreme Court has spoken. Yes, there is still much to worry about, but for now, the religious community can breathe a sigh of relief. For weeks, we have been waiting for the Court to decide the fate of Obamacare. We have listened to endless fulminating from the Tea Party and from members of Congress on the right. We have heard too many politicians, sitting on their fat health insurance provided by the taxpayers, declare their willingness to return tens of millions of Americans to the all-but-permanent state of anxiety that they were once in about their ability to get [...]