Healthcare is required to protect the life and dignity of every person. Jewish tradition teaches that God did not divide creation between the sick and the well, between people who can afford health care and those who cannot, or between those who are entitled to health care and those who are not. Ohio’s Medicaid expansion gives 770,000 people the freedom to get the care they need.

The Ohio legislature is currently considering language in the budget that will completely eliminate Medicaid expansion if the federal government reduces its contribution to the program. This would take healthcare away from some of the most vulnerable Ohioans and strain our state’s healthcare system. 

We can act on our values of building a healthy community for all Ohioans: tell your state legislators to remove language from the budget that would trigger an end to Medicaid expansion.

Background

In the years following the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Ohioans came together across difference to get the state government to expand eligibility for the state’s Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion covers 770,000 Ohioans who make less than 138% of the federal poverty level, many of whom have chronic health conditions.

The federal government currently covers 90% of the costs for individuals covered by the Medicaid expansion. Governor DeWine’s proposed budget (which has yet to be passed) includes language known as a “trigger law:” it states that if the federal government pays any less than their 90% contribution, Ohio will eliminate its Medicaid expansion. This would happen regardless of how much the government reduces their contribution.

Taking health insurance away from 770,000 Ohioans will first and foremost impact them and their families. It will also impact Ohio employers, who will face increased healthcare costs, and rural health systems that rely on Medicaid payments to operate.

Ohio lawmakers have many other tools they can use to make up for an unforeseen strain on the state's Medicaid budget. A “trigger law” takes away our ability to react to changes on the federal level in a way that best protects Ohioans’ freedom to get the care they need.

Jewish Values

Jewish tradition is clear on healthcare as a core obligation for any society. The scholar, sage, and doctor, Maimonides, states: “it is obligatory from the Torah for the physician to heal the sick” (Commentary on Mishnah Nedarim 4:4). Maimonides also lists healthcare first on his list of the 10 most important communal services a city must offer its residents if the city is to be found worthy for a great scholar to live there (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot IV:23). 

Our belief that humanity is created in the divine image compels us to work for a healthcare system that is accessible and equitable for all.

For more information 

Visit the RAC-OH website, or contact RAC-OH Organizer Jacob Kraus-Preminger.

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