Fresh Updates from RAC

Sudan and South Sudan, which have been independent nations for only just over a year, have brokered a deal on oil revenue. Part of the ongoing conflict between the two nations, which began as a twenty year civil war punctuated by genocide in Darfur and fueled by ethnic and political clashes, was an unresolved dispute over how to divide oil profits, as most of the oil is produced in the southern country, yet it is exported through ports in the northern nation.

Secretary Clinton visited South Sudan last week and pressured the nations to reach an agreement: “Now was the time to bring this impasse to a close,” she stated, “for the good of the people of South Sudan and their aspirations for a better future in the face of ongoing challenges.” President Obama also praised the cooperation between the nations: “This agreement opens the door to a future of greater prosperity for the people of both countries.”

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With over nine hundred pages outlining hundreds of provisions, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to expand coverage to millions of Americans and lower health care costs. Now that its major functioning mechanism, the individual mandate, was found to be constitutional, the various provisions of the law will continue to be implemented as scheduled.

One provision in particular, the creation of the Health Insurance Marketplace (Exchange) program, facilitates individuals and small businesses as they select appropriate health insurance plans. States across the nation have received grants allowing them to establish state Affordable Insurance Exchanges. Not only will more Americans be covered, but prices will go down as well: The Exchanges, which create a “one-stop shop” experience for individuals and small businesses looking for coverage, make the insurance market more transparent, as consumers will make selections based on price and quality. This in turn fosters competition with and among private insurance companies, which consequently lowers prices.

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The final vote 244-185, the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, this being the chamber’s 33^rd attempt at repeal. Both Democrats and Republicans weighed in on the issue on the floor, and Minority leader Pelosi insisted at a rally in the Capitol Visitor Center that the law makes health care a right, not a privilege, for all Americans. It is unlikely that the repeal efforts will reach the Senate.

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Today marks the one year anniversary of South Sudan’s secession from Sudan. Plagued by a bloody civil war lasting nearly two decades and a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, Sudan found a greater chance for peace after a January 2011 referendum, in which 98.8% of voters voted for the separation of the north and south.

Despite the formal delineation of nations, much turmoil still exists, especially along border regions, where Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir has been launching attacks. Many populations have been targeted for ethnic, racial and political reasons. Certain areas have also been targeted because of a dispute over how to divide the oil wealth in the region: South Sudan produces a majority of the oil, yet most of it is exported through the north. Both countries rely heavily on the revenues from the oil, which accounts for 98% of South Sudan’s budget, and this dispute could lead to a relapse in violence.

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Perhaps you, like myself and many others, were perched in front of your computer, a television, or in front of the Supreme Court itself yesterday, awaiting the decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As I sat at my desk, attempting to quell flickering speculations about the ruling and its consequences for Americans, the decision that suddenly flashed before my eyes was both unexpected and most welcome: “We have a health care opinion.” I froze. “The individual mandate survives as a tax.”

In a 5-4 decision, Chief Justice Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion, along with Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Breyer and Ginsburg, ruled that the minimum coverage requirement, the provision that most Americans must purchase health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty, is a tax and is thus an appropriate expression of Congress’ power.

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Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court handed down its decision on the constitutionality of Arizona’s immigration law, SB 1070 (read RAC Director Rabbi David Saperstein’s statement here). Of the four provisions presented before the justices for review, three were overturned because they interfered with federal law. The decision was 5-3, with Justice Kennedy writing the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Sotomayor, Breyer and Ginsburg. (Justice Kagan recused herself because she was involved in preparing the government’s case while serving as solicitor general).

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Jewish tradition has long advocated broad access to health services. Maimonides, the revered medieval Jewish physician and scholar, listed health care first on his list of the 10 most important communal services that a city should offer its residents (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot IV: 23). Almost all self-governing Jewish communities throughout history set up systems to ensure that all their citizens had access to health care. Doctors were required to reduce their rates for poor patients, and when that was not sufficient, communal subsidies were established (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 249:16; Responsa Ramat Rahel of Rabbi Eliezer Waldernberg, sections 24-25).

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UnitedHealthcare, the country’s largest health insurer, has announced that it will maintain certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act regardless of whether the Supreme Court overturns the historic reform law. The Court is expected to release its decision by the end of this month.

Whatever the final decision is, UnitedHealthcare has said it will continue to offer free preventative health services, allow young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance until 26 years of age, keep the law’s streamlined appeals process, lift lifetime limits on insurance payouts, and refrain from rescinding coverage if a member becomes ill. Included in the preventative services are birth control and sterilization procedures, but the company has assured consumers that it will respect religious or other groups that do not want to include those services.

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