Welcome!
Enough! What could and should have been a thoughtful debate on how to repair our broken health care system has been hijacked. Instead of real debate, we have political hooliganism. For the sake of our democracy, we cannot, we dare not, stand on the sidelines. It is time to get in the game, to reclaim the agenda and to demonstrate that concerned Americans will not be cowed. It is time for “Jews for Health Care Reform.”
Why “Jews For Health Care Reform”?
Because a Jewish voice for universal, affordable, accessible health care must be heard.
Because we care for justice, and a system that leaves millions of us uninsured and millions more underinsured is not just. Jewish tradition teaches that an individual human life is of infinite value and its preservation supersedes almost all other considerations. It’s that simple, and that crucial.
And because of self-interest, too: The Jewish population is considerably older than the general population and much more dependent on a system that is both efficient and effective. Our current system fails on both counts.
We must raise a Jewish voice for universal, affordable, accessible health care.
Can we afford the repairs the reformers—foremost among them President Obama—seek? The more pertinent question is whether we can afford to maintain our current broken system. Nearly one in four Americans under the age of 65—some 64.4 million people—will spend more than 10 percent of their family income on health care in 2009. This is not sustainable. It means not only bankruptcy for millions of us; it means bankruptcy for the nation.
We must raise a Jewish voice for universal, affordable, accessible health care.
In addition to the private insurance system, there must be a public option. Just as both Medicare and the Veterans Administration hospitals deliver quality care at lower cost than the private system – and do not refuse service on account of “pre-existing conditions” – a public option available to all Americans would be a safety valve for the nation, for all Americans. It would help rein in the explosive rise in insurance costs that America’s people and businesses have been forced to bear.
For 3,000 years, the Jewish people have been bearers of a message of justice and fairness for all that has reshaped the world. In the great health care reform debate of 2009, that message needs to be sounded powerfully and by joining with Jews throughout the nation, you can assure that voice will be heard.
Join us in raising our collective voice.