For Immediate Release
March 27, 2017
WASHINGTON – In response to the withdrawal of the American Health Care Act before a House vote, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis and wider Reform Movement:
We are relieved by the withdrawal of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a bill that would have cost an estimated 24 million people access to the quality, affordable health care that all deserve. The proposed legislation was a severe step backward from the progress made in recent years to expand health coverage. Future health reform legislation must seek to expand coverage, and not make it less accessible to people with limited financial means or health challenges.
We are inspired by the example set over many centuries, during which Jewish law has commanded communities to provide health care to their inhabitants (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De'ot IV: 23). Health care is a core element of creating a society of equality and justice. We remain committed to ensuring that all people have access to high-quality, affordable health coverage.
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The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose nearly 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 2,000 Reform rabbis. Visit www.rac.org for more.
