Jewish Orgs: Philanthropy will not be enough without Medicaid and ADA Suzanne Pollak

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Jewish Orgs: Philanthropy will not be enough without Medicaid and ADA

By Suzanne Pollak

One-hundred-eighty disability advocates lobbied Congress on February 2, the seventh annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day, expressing their support for the preservation of Medicaid and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Activists involved in helping people who have developmental, physical and/ or mental disabilities gathered together to see how they could best help everyone to be included in society and become active participants in the Jewish community.

Advocacy Day “was important last year, and it will be important next year,” said Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center (RAC), the Reform Jewish movement’s social action organization.

“Including everyone in Jewish and daily life is a core Jewish value,” he said. “We need to keep improving, not just hold the line. I think that is one of the hallmarks of the United States, that we keep building on programs.”

It is particularly important to remain vigilant this year, “because there is so much turbulence in the political system,” said Pesner. The RAC and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) were the main sponsors of the day-long event. Participants listened to eight congress members and several disability experts before breaking up into small groups to lobby 50 members of congress.

“I think that the thing that impressed me the most was the fact that you have so many people there, from Chabad down to the non-affiliated. Everybody is sitting together, working together for one common cause, with the respect I find in very few places,” said Batya Jacob, director of educational support services for Yachad, a division of the Orthodox Union.

“We all work together, because we all know the only way we will succeed is to work together,” said Jacob, who has attended Advocacy Day for the past three years.

The two themes of the day involved the preservation of Medicaid and the ADA.

Jonathan Westin, JFNA’s senior director of health initiatives, urged attendees not to be afraid.

“There is a movement to cut Medicaid costs, which is understandable,” he said, but turning Medicaid into a block grant program or capping the program’s funds is not the way to go. Under a block grant, or a per capita limit, fewer people would be served.

If all the cuts that are being talked about are adopted, Westin expressed skepticism that everyone in the audience will be able to continue working and heading programs. “Philanthropy can’t make that up,” he said.

Dara Baldwin, senior public policy analyst for the National Disability Rights Network, spoke of possible changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act, including one that would place several additional burdens on those filing a civil action for an accessibility violation. A proposed bill in the House of Representatives shifts the burden of ensuring compliance to those with disabilities, rather than the business owners.

“Go out there and fight this,” Baldwin told the advocates.

“The best way to do that,” said Barbara Weinstein, associate director at the

The Jewish community needs to move beyond making their buildings accessible and toward including everyone in programs and celebrations

If all the cuts that are being talked about are adopted, Westin expressed skepticism that everyone in the audience will be able to continue working and heading programs. "Philanthropy can’t make that up," he said.

RAC, is to “share your stories. Make Congress understand it’s not just about numbers, it’s about our lives.”

As chaplain at Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, Linda Yitzchak appreciated the advice. Describing herself as “not a political person,” advocacy day helped her become informed, she said. “I think this year is even more critical than in the past, now that the three branches of government are all controlled by the Republican party.”

JFGH residents are aware of what is going on politically. “They feel in jeopardy. They are very scared, uncertain, and they don’t want to go backward,” Yitzchak said.

Steve Rakitt, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, appreciates the focus that Jewish Disability Advocacy Day places on issues pertinent to those with disabilities. The Jewish community needs to move beyond making their buildings accessible and toward including everyone in programs and celebrations.

“Inclusion is not just a ramp,” Rakitt said. “It’s a mindset, and a set of actions.”

“We have made tremendous strides, we have a way to go.”

There is a real concern that the disability community will be left behind, especially if Medicaid becomes a blockgrant program, said Rakitt, who is hearing impaired.

Also addressing the advocates was Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch, who said that every person “has a diamond within them” and must be treated with respect.

Benjamin Dubin, who represents the Associated in Baltimore on the JFNA Disabilities Committee, is also concerned. “There is still a lot to be done in our community.” All Jews can’t learn about Judaism when a building is not handicap-accessible or there is no special equipment for the hearing impaired, he said.

Besides conveying their wishes to individual congress members, the group was addressed by several politicians, many of whom either had a disability or had a family member with one.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, (D-Md.), told the crowd that it had “a strong ally” in him. “We are simply not going to let anyone come in and rip [the Affordable Care Act] all up without any plan,” he said.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said it was Congress’s job to make sure everyone has equal opportunities and can do their best. He vowed “to be on full alert” to proposed changes to Medicaid and the ADA.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tx.), who is on what he called Obamacare and has two children with disabilities, urged everyone to give any new proposals a chance. “Changing Medicaid doesn’t automatically mean cutting Medicaid,” he said. He favors individual states, taking the lead in providing benefits for their residents.

Also speaking were Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), David Joyce (R-Ohio), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), and Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.).

Suzanne Pollak is the senior writer/editor at Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington. She was a reporter at The Courier Post in New Jersey and The Washington Jewish Week, and she now writes for The Montgomery Sentinel.