Shalom. The next few days promises to be important in the continuing challenge to health care and public health. Soon the administration will send up a proposed budget for the federal government. Many of us, as we have written, are concerned that in the details of trying to reduce the federal deficit, there will be an attempt to restructure aspects of Medicare and Medicaid, perhaps throwing more decisions to the states which may have those states need to raise taxes to fund these programs on a state by state level.
Equally challenging will be what is being reported as major cuts to Health and Human Services. In a Washington Post article from April 16, there are reports of significant cuts to many programs and research programs that will impact health care. Already we have seen major cuts in employees in a variety of agencies, like Social Security, that many fear will impact service and research and progress on many fronts. The Center for Disease Control, National Institute of Health and others have been impacted. Budgets are to be cut, more people let go and programs that impact all ages will be impacted. There is a concern, as the article mentioned, that costs to Medicare and Medicaid will go up. One of the more disturbing notes cites the concerns that “Money for the Head Start program..would be eliminated”. There are also cuts that would impact rural health facilities and other programs that monitor such issues as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, ALS and more.
Budgets, as many of us know, are also moral documents. We need to be on guard that the attempt to cut waste does not cost lives. This is a cross generational issue and, as elders, we need to be vigilant and keep informed on the progress of this budget as it makes its way through Congress. The result of this process will impact all of us and our families.
Shalom,
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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