Vaad Meets Senator Menendez this Morning to Advocate for NJ Family Care. The long summer months are expected to feature hot debate in Washington over healthcare reform and the federal budget, the consequences of which are very real for struggling Lakewood families.

In particular, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and is now headed to the U.S. Senate, may destroy the finances of thousands of Lakewood families. Though the bill is primarily a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, it has the potential, depending on U.S. Senate action, to force thousands of poor and especially minority Lakewood families to lose their health insurance.

ACHA Repeal Round One

The AHCA as initially proposed this spring, went far beyond reversing Obamacare, it was more drastic, rolling back health insurance eligibility to the time when near all adults, no matter how poor, were not allowed to purchase NJ Family Care plans. Since December 2007, three years before Obamacare was passed, those plans allowed adults to buy insurance, using the leverage of the State purchasing power.  Adults pay a sliding scale fee for the insurance, with the amount determined by income levels.

Under the first ACHA repeal attempt, NJ adults, unless disabled or pregnant, would have been kicked off their NJ Family Care plans! This led local Congressman Chris Smith and Congressman Tom MacArthur to express their opposition to the legislation and stop the bill in its tracks. While the bill might have helped Florida or Texas, it was bad for New Jersey and our Congressman acted.

If you vote, and ever wondered what difference your vote makes – now you know- by electing people like Congressman Smith you helped save insurance coverage for some 20,000 Lakewood residents.

ACHA Repeal Round Two

The repeal effort did not die. It came back to the House, in modified form, with the possibility of less damage to NJ’s families. Yet, even in its current revised form, AHCA would cut $880 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, which would force many states to drastically slash eligibility.

The effect on adults now on New Jersey Family Care would be devastating, as private insurance plans, typically cost between $25,000 to $30,000 a year, which is completely out-of-budget for thousands of  Lakewood families.

Dr. Jonathan Cohen, local internist and longtime member of The Lakewood Vaad relates that the Vaad communicated the impact on Lakewood families with urgency to Lakewood’s federal representatives, namely Senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, and Congressman Christopher Smith – who all have a closer kesher to Lakewood.

Congressman Smith, a staunch conservative Obamacare opponent, was among only twenty Republican congressmen in the entire House of Representatives who voted against Round Two AHCA repeal bill. The Congressman has publicly stated that the legislation’s devastating effect on needy Medicaid recipients was the primary reason he undertook this courageous vote. He was also bothered by how disabled adults would be left without care and he noted that any replacement bill must be more than a “conservative principle,” it also needs to have a real effective plan.

Of particular import, is the fact that the Round Two repeal goes far beyond repealing Obamacare, and that it would cause havoc across the State. A bedrock conservative, Smith’s approach is reasoned, caring and filled with heart.

Despite Smith’s opposition, Round Two ACHA repeal just passed the House. Senate Republicans recently announced their own healthcare reform proposal, which would also drastically reduce Medicaid over the coming decade – albeit by slightly less than the House version. The Republican majority in the Senate is tight and several moderate and conservative senators have publicly voiced reservations about various aspects of the proposal. Changes are likely to be made before a bill could pass the chamber, including hopefully more funding for needy Medicaid recipients. I coming days, with Senators echoing Congressman Smith’s position – repeal may be the right thing but let’s make sure that Repeal and Replace doesn’t become Repeal, Replace and Discard human lives. The Senate generally is more of a “collegial place” where ideology is tempered with practicality and the final Senate bill is less likely to hurt families like those in Lakewood.

The Road Ahead – You Matter

Should the Senate pass its version of Repeal, the Senate version would then have to be “reconciled” with Round Two ACHA House bill, in order to become law. This would require a new third vote by the House.  The Vaad remains in close contact with Senators Booker and Menendez, and Congressman Smith – a key Republican swing vote – to ensure that any Senate bill and any future combined House/Senate reconciled bill protects Lakewood families.

This morning the Vaad met with Senator Bob Menendez and reiterated to him how important it is to ensure that any bill allow adults to acquire coverage through NJ Family Care and he re committed yet again to this.

Not on Bread Alone Can Man Live

In addition to healthcare, The Vaad is also keeping a very close eye on the federal budget proposal presented to Congress by President Trump late last month. Congressional leaders have agreed upon a temporary plan that funds the federal government through September 30^th. Congress aims to have a final 2017-18 budget proposal passed by that date.

Among other severe cuts, the Trump budget would cap SNAP food stamp benefits at $925 a month, the current maximum for a family of six, typical for a family with two parents and four children. A family with additional children – no matter how poor, – would not receive a penny for those additional children.  In the words of one well-known political observer, “those families should simply stop having children.”  This attitude discriminates against Lakewood families, as our community has a disproportionate number of large families and many have low or moderate incomes.

Pulling bread out of hungry kids’ mouths is not a great way to make balance budgets. The Vaad is making sure that our Senators and Congressmen know that.

At the Vaad meeting with Senator Menendez this morning this too was raised – with the Vaad members specifically asking him to look out for the interests of large families. The Senator committed on this too and the Vaad expressed it’s appreciation to him on behalf of the families of Lakewood.

The Vaad is also working with Senators from states with large Catholic and Mormon populations, as those states have many families with more than four children and they too will be discriminated against in the proposed Trump Budget’s SNAP bill.

On this particular danger, Rabbi Yisroel Schenkolewski, whose Vaad leadership dating back to Rav Shneur Zatzal’s days, has been the central factor in the successes of the Lakewood Kehilla, sounds an optimistic note, noting that our speaking up can make a real difference. Here too, he notes that our strong voting speaks loudly. “While our community is small, our united voice matters. The elected officials know that we care about our families and that we expect them to demonstrate the same caring.”

The Vaad is not resting. Its askanim remain aggressive in their outreach to Senators Booker and Menendez, and Congressman Smith, to ensure that this provision – or any alternative proposal cut to essential SNAP benefits – should be dead on arrival in any final budget proposal. Just as regarding healthcare, Congressman Smith has a strong appreciation for the needs of Lakewood’s struggling families, due to his solid relationship with our community and The Vaad – even when our community’s needs clash with the priorities of his party’s leaders.

“We fully respect the need for fiscal responsibility in federal spending and the importance of protecting overburdened taxpayers in Lakewood and across the country,” Rabbi Schenkolewski explains on behalf of the Vaad. “Nevertheless, we are working tirelessly to ensure that these goals are not accomplished by harming the health and nutritional needs of the families that need it most. We publicly thank Senators Booker and Menendez, and Congressman Smith, for being on the front lines in this battle.”