Fresh Updates from RAC

The Community First Choice option expands access to home- and community-based care in your state, leading to better health outcomes for older adults and individuals with disabilities. We are taught in Pirkei Avot to not separate ourselves from our community, but too often people with disabilities are forced to do just that. Urge your governor and state legislators to implement this option, allowing increased matching funds for more services to more people.

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While the new Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill takes many strides toward improving our immigration system, it also includes some significant steps backward. Our Jewish tradition not only teaches us, but commands us to treat the foreigner living in our country with the same laws as our own.

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Welcome the stranger, care for the sick, just don’t do both! No, the last part is not part of Jewish tradition, but it is part of the new immigration reform proposal. While the new Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill includes a number of laudable improvements like creating a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers and other undocumented immigrants, it also excludes them from social services like healthcare.

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One month into sequestration, and the cuts are already hitting home. Every day we hear new reports of who is suffering from these haphazard cuts—from cancer patients to preschoolers. We ask why:

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Even though the Affordable Care Act became law last year, the battle for comprehensive healthcare reform is not over! Last year the Supreme Court made the primary mechanism for covering low-income individuals functionally optional, which has left each and every state the opportunity to refuse to provide comprehensive healthcare to their most needy constituents.

Jewish law established that health care coverage is one of the services that every community must provide. As Jews, our tradition requires that we care about the health of our fellow human beings. In accordance with that sacred obligation, we need to make our voices heard on issues of healthcare coverage and urge our state governments to implement the expansion.

There are significant political obstacles even in states that looked like they may participate. This past week the state legislature in Florida blocked the Governor’s proposal to fully implement the expansion. In the last month 4 more states have joined the list refusing to expand their programs!

This is our chance to make a difference and fight for healthcare coverage for millions of low-income families. Take action today and let your state officials know that we need comprehensive healthcare coverage for everyone now!

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As the House and the Senate release and mark up their budgets this week, there’s a lot of jargon being tossed around. You may have heard that the House-proposed budget include “block grants” for SNAP and Medicaid. What does that mean – and why should Jews care?

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It has been nearly 3 years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law. Since then it has had a rather tumultuous time between court challenges, state decisions, the general public’s confusion over what the law actually does, the fight over contraceptive coverage, and the exclusion of DREAMers from some of the key provisions. If you are curious about what the law actually does, or just want a refresher on the key provisions, take a look at these webinars from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which provide some basic information about the healthcare law and what it will mean for your community.

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One week out, it seems like it’s an appropriate time to mention that there were no articles on the RAC blog this year about Valentine’s Day. Maybe that’s because there is some contention over the holiday’s Christian roots and whether or not that makes it an appropriate holiday for Jews to celebrate. Or maybe it’s because between the recent Boy Scout controversy, Jewish Disability Awareness Month, the State of the Union and Israeli elections there were just too many “fresh updates” to squeeze it all in!

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