Wisconsin Jewish Conference joins call for Medicaid expansion

          The May 7 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an opinion article by four policy leaders representing faith communities across the state — including Michael Blumenfeld, executive director of the Wisconsin Jewish Conference.

          Together, they urged Wisconsin’s leaders to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid.

          The other authors were Rev. Scott Anderson, executive director of Wisconsin Council of Churches; Amy Johnson, executive director of Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin; and John Huebscher, executive director of Wisconsin Catholic Conference.

          The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation furnished a copy of this to The Chronicle.

          “In our respective faith traditions, a right is defined as a moral claim on the community to a good essential for human dignity,” the article states. “Access to affordable health care is such a right, and ensuring access is a common policy goal of long standing for religious communities.”

          “For nearly five decades, [the Medicaid] program has provided vital access to the most vulnerable members of our society,” the article states. “One of the most appealing and socially just aspects of the Affordable Care Act is its offer to provide financial help to states to expand their Medicaid programs. This offer of coverage extends the benefits of health insurance to those in our midst who have thus far been left outside society’s “circle of protection” afforded by our health care safety net.”

          “Accepting federal dollars for Medicaid expansion will do more than facilitate access to health care for Wisconsin’s needy,” the article states. “Doing so will reflect sound stewardship of limited resources. Utilizing these federal dollars for Medicaid, even if done temporarily, will permit the Legislature to reallocate funds to other critical needs, such as elementary and secondary education, other health programs, tax relief for those in need of it and community corrections programs.”

          The full article can be seen on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website, http://m.jsonline.com/more/editorials/perspectives/206352171.htm.