Faith Letter to Senate
Monday, November 23 2009 @ 09:28 PM EST
Views: 983
November 18, 2009Dear Senator:
Our organizations, as well as communities of faith at all levels of our society, have supported comprehensive health care reform for decades. As providers of services and care, our members, congregations and institutions are very familiar with the impact our current health care system has on individuals and their families, particularly vulnerable populations such as low-income individuals, women, children and the elderly.
We are pleased that the U.S. Congress has answered the call for health care reform and is working diligently to expand health care availability to all Americans. We look to the Senate at this important juncture to keep to a vision of comprehensive health care reform that is affordable, accessible, inclusive and accountable.
As people of faith, we envision a society where each person is afforded health, wholeness and human dignity. We are advocates of health care that is affordable, available to all, and in which access to quality health services is not limited by income, age, gender, race or ethnicity, geography, employment status or health status. Too many Americans suffer because of our broken health care system. We urge you to support comprehensive health care reform legislation that: includes a strong public health insurance option that is available on day one and in all states;
expands Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 150% of the federal poverty level;
prohibits pre-existing condition exclusions;
provides adequate subsidies for all individuals and families up to 400% of the federal poverty level and reasonable limits on annual out-of-pocket expenses for all people;
eliminates underwriting based on health status, age, gender or occupation;
provides legal immigrants with equal access to subsidies to help them purchase health insurance and allows
undocumented immigrants to purchase their own health insurance through any insurance exchange offered;
eliminates the five-year waiting period for all legal immigrants to receive Medicaid and CHIP benefits;
includes all immigrant children and pregnant women, regardless of immigration status, in eligibility for Medicaid. We urge you to seize this opportunity to make important, positive changes to our health care system that will literally save lives and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans. Sincerely, Buddhist Peace Fellowship Disciples Justice Action Network (Disciples of Christ) The Episcopal Church Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Faithful Reform in Health Care Islamic Society of North America Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office Progressive National Baptist Convention The Rabbinical Assembly Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society Washington Office of Public Policy, Women's Division, United Methodist Church
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