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Health Care
Recent Headlines]
Unlikely alliances work to save Minnesota’s healthcare program for the poor
A plea to save GAMC
Medically vulnerable are anxious, confused
General Assistance Medical Care Program
JCA's
Response to General
Assistance Medical Care .
Information Sheet:
Redesigning General Assistance Medical Care
From the Office of Social Justice:
Governor's New Plan Does Not Fix the GAMC Problem
During last year's session Governor Tim Pawlenty un-allotted the General
Assistance Medical Care Program (GAMC). This important health insurance
program for low-income people provides access to health care, medication
and hospitalization. Approximately 35,000 Minnesotans are currently on
GAMC and do not qualify for any other state or federal health care
insurance program.
This program was designed to give access to health care for two
different segments of our society. First, any Minnesotan who has an
income less than $8,124 per year and less than $1,000 in assets
qualifies for GAMC. Many people in this community are disabled or
homeless who are often struggling with mental health issues. Without
their prescription drugs, they could become unstable and in need of more
costly treatments or hospitalizations.
Our grown children form the second group of our community that uses
General Assistance Medical Care. At 25, all our children are on their
own with respect to health insurance. Many of these young adults work at
businesses that cannot afford to give them health benefits, so they
often go without health insurance. When some unforeseen health issue
occurs and they become hospitalized, they are covered by GAMC. After
February, this will no longer be an option.
There are many ramifications to the un-allotment of this essential
medical insurance program. This community is not going to disappear --
they will still use services at the public health care institutions, but
these hospitals and clinics will not be reimbursed for the services
provided. This will put a tremendous stress on the entire health care
system. Hennepin County Medical Center will have a predicted $43 million
hole in their budget. This will not only affect the GAMC population but
will affect everyone. Please help and write a letter to your state law
makers to encourage them to think of creative solutions to this big
problem.
Health Care Reform - Children's Initiative
Leaders involved in the Children's Initiative, a
collaboration between Jewish Community Action and Mount Zion Temple,
have drafted a statement on
health
care reform and Jewish values. JCA continues to engage with
community residents, congregations, and other organization to advocate
on behalf of meaningful reform.
Health Care Reform - Take Action
Contact Members of Congress
The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has a
web page that features background and Jewish values behind health
care reform, and helps you create an e-mail to your national elected
officials.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation provides updates on the
current state of national legislation on health care.
Resources
For more information on health care, we recommend the following:
Kaiser Family Foundation Side by Side Analysis of Proposals
Children's
Defense Fund Minnesota
Religious Action Center of the Union for Reform Judaism
Campaign for an American Solution
News from the
Federal Government and President
Friends
Committee on National Legislation
PICO National
Network
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Keep Minnesota Children Healthy
Jewish Community Action and Mount Zion
Temple are working together to make our current health care system work
for children. We share the following short-term goals:
Preserve current health care benefit levels
for Minnesota Children
Simplify the application process for
Minnesota Care and Medical Assistance
Lengthen the eligibility period to an
annual renewal period
Remove artificial barriers to accessing
health care
Maintain Health Care Access Fund
Our long-term objective is to support the
Minnesota Health Security Act to assure access to health care for all
Minnesota children as a pathway to all Minnesotans.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mount Zion/Jewish Community Action
Children's Initiative agreed on the following values:
As Maimonides stated: Health care is a
community problem that calls for community solutions
There are plenty of resources in our
health-care system, but they are not distributed to meet our
communities’ needs
Access to high-quality health care for
everyone is a necessary and achievable goal
Individuals with greater needs for care
deserve access to the resources that can provide that care
Our health care system should be designed
to achieve healthy communities
Access to health care should be for all,
with no differences between races, socio-economic classes,
neighborhoods, or genders.
We can achieve the greatest value for our
health care resources by ensuring universal access, and investing in
public health and self empowerment for their health.
Decisions about the health care system
should be made democratically, by the public, because everyone is
affected by health-care policy and our tax dollars subsidize the entire
health-care system
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mount Zion Temple adopted the
following Resolution on Comprehensive, Affordable Health Care in
Minnesota:
Whereas, there are over 400,000 people in
Minnesota who do not have health insurance, including 85,000 children.
Whereas, the Union for Reform Judaism
adopted a resolution on Health Care at the General Assembly in December
of 2007 and instructed congregations to advance the goals of the
resolution including assuring that every person in our community has
access to affordable health care.
Therefore, be it resolved that Mount Zion
Temple supports efforts to ensure that all Minnesota children have
access to comprehensive, affordable health care, which includes regular
preventive care and care for acute and chronic illness.
Be it further resolved that Mount Zion
Temple supports future efforts to make comprehensive health care more
accessible to the uninsured and underinsured adult population in
Minnesota.
To achieve this end Mount Zion Temple will:
(a) reach out to existing coalition efforts and participate in
coalition-building to expand health care access; (b) facilitate other
forms of state-level advocacy, including face-to-face meetings with
policy makers and letter writing; and (c) review and where appropriate
take positions on proposed legislation related to health care access.
Mount Zion Temple's Board of Directors
authorizes the Tzedek Committee, clergy, and President, acting by
consensus, to implement this position by taking a congregational
position on specific legislation and/or signing onto specific coalition
efforts on behalf of the congregation. The President shall report any
such actions to the Board of Directors, and to the Congregation, within
one week of such action.
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