B’nai Brith, RAC: Baucus bill passage a good start

B’nai B’rith International and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism both have released statements praising the Senate Finance Committee for approving the Baucus health-care bill on Tuesday, but both emphasize this is only the beginning of a long process and said they hope to see, among other improvements, some sort of public option or other mechanism to keep insurance affordable.

BBI had criticized the bill last month for falling short in several key areas and still said it "does not yet adequately address all key elements vital to comprehensive healthcare reform," but the orgnanization said "its passage is a crucial step toward desperately needed changes to our health insurance system."

"What’s most important is that this issue is finally getting the momentum and attention it deserves," said BBI director of aging policy Rachel Goldberg. "Yes, we hope to see the CLASS Act (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) added to the final bill to address long-term care and we hope to include other provisions related to age discrimination and the future Medicare. But the message today is that we are absolutely making real progress."

RAC associate director Mark Pelavin also said the bill’s passage was a good start, but there was much more work to be done.

"With conscious effort to keep down cost, America’s Healthy Future Act requires most Americans to purchase insurance coverage, offers a purchasing exchange that facilitates competition, but fails to implement a government-run insurance plan to compete with the private market," said Pelavin. "Today’s vote is a milestone in the journey toward giving American citizens the health care coverage they deserve, but it is by no means the end of the line.

"In moving forward, we will work to see the expansion of quality, affordable care include comprehensive protection of low-income and vulnerable populations, and rest on a financially sustainable foundation. We also hope to see a public option and sufficient subsidies to assist middle income people purchase health insurance," he said.

Both statements are after the jump:[[READMORE]]

B’nai B’rith International commends the Senate Finance Committee for voting to move forward on a healthcare reform measure that offers the promise of healthcare to all Americans. Though the bill does not yet adequately address all key elements vital to comprehensive healthcare reform, its passage is a crucial step toward desperately needed changes to our health insurance system.

We hope this is the beginning of a new, less heated and more focused stage of this critically important process.

“No bill is perfect and there are still many opportunities for improvements as the various committees, and the Senate and House, reconcile their versions,” said B’nai B’rith Director of Aging Policy Rachel Goldberg, Ph.D. “What’s most important is that this issue is finally getting the momentum and attention it deserves. Yes, we hope to see the CLASS Act (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) added to the final bill to address long-term care and we hope to include other provisions related to age discrimination and the future Medicare. But the message today is that we are absolutely making real progress.”

Tens of millions of Americans, many of them working and supporting families, are currently without access to routine health services. Each year, fewer Americans have access to affordable healthcare through their employers while costs continue to rise. Those hardest hit by uncovered healthcare costs make up more than one-half of personal bankruptcy filings each year. 

Access to affordable healthcare in the United States should be the primary goal of any Congressional healthcare effort. We look forward to positive changes to the reform plans as the legislative process unfolds. Future cost issues in Medicare, as well as Medicare prescription drug costs, need to be adequately addressed in a final bill. The age rating for health insurance premiums – which currently allows older people to be charged more – needs significant improvement. And a final bill needs a solid mechanism to ensure a competitive market for our healthcare business in all communities. Without it, there is no incentive for insurance companies to keep premiums affordable.

“It is imperative that we continue our work with lawmakers to get the best bill possible,” said Mark Olshan, Ph.D., associate executive vice president of B’nai B’rith International. “Getting this far is a major accomplishment, but the job is not nearly complete.”

B’nai B’rith recognizes the process still has a long way to go, but the Senate Finance Committee’s vote signals a commitment to a vital change in the way health insurance is viewed.

And the RAC:

In response to today’s  Senate Finance Committee passage of America’s Healthy Future Act, Mark J. Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center, issued the following statement:

The Reform Jewish Movement applauds today’s watershed vote by the Senate Finance Committee, bringing a long-overdue health care reform bill to the Senate floor.

Jewish tradition teaches that human life is of infinite value and that the preservation of life supersedes all other consideration. Providing health care is not just an obligation for the patient and the doctor, but for society as well. It is for this reason that Maimonides, a revered Jewish scholar, listed health care first on his list of the ten most important communal services that a city had to offer to its residents (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot IV: 23).

With conscious effort to keep down cost, America’s Healthy Future Act requires most Americans to purchase insurance coverage, offers a purchasing exchange that facilitates competition, but fails to implement a government-run insurance plan to compete with the private market. Today’s vote is a milestone in the journey toward giving American citizens the health care coverage they deserve, but it is by no means the end of the line.

In moving forward, we will work to see the expansion of quality, affordable care include comprehensive protection of low-income and vulnerable populations, and rest on a financially sustainable foundation. We also hope to see a public option and sufficient subsidies to assist middle income people purchase health insurance.

Ancient Jewish text states “whosoever sustains and saves a single soul, it is as if that person sustained a whole world” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). We look forward to a future in which all Americans have access to the high-quality health care they need and deserve.