Today, 46.6 million Americans (15.9 percent of the population) do not have health insurance coverage. To put this into perspective 46.6 million is greater than the populations of the 24 smallest states combined. On March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law, paving the way for reform of the major shortcomings in our nation’s health insurance system.

The landmark new health insurance legislation (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act) establishes very specific provisions for covering most U.S. citizens and legal residents, defines what essential benefits will be included in insurance policies, and determines who will be responsible for providing coverage. Review key provisions affecting synagogues, their staffs and leaders.

Public health care programs ensure that low-income families and the elderly have access to comprehensive medical treatment and care.

Organ donation is a matter of life and death for 70,000 Americans waiting to receive transplants. Sadly, there is a significant lack of organs available, making the policy regulating their allocation and the prioritization of those who are the most sick critical in maximizing the number saved.

Our tradition teaches us that human life is of infinite value and that the preservation of life supersedes almost all other considerations.