USA: Wisconsin's Interfaith Leaders 'Fast for Fairnes' During Lent To Urge Medicaid Expansion

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“We must focus on this issue of health care and making sure that affordable health care is available to all of our citizens, without discrimination. This is a battle that will not be won in a moment, it will not be won in a year. It will take all of our lives.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Think Progress
By Sy Mukherjee | March 7, 2014

An interfaith group of religious leaders and community activists in Racine, Wisconsin will be fasting every Saturday this Lent to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s (R-WI) decision to reject the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and kick nearly 80,000 people off of the state’s current, relatively generous Medicaid program, BadgerCare.

The campaign, called Fast4Fairness, is being organized by the Racine Interfaith Coalition (RIC) and advocacy group Community for Change. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and agnostic Racine County residents held a press conference on Ash Wednesday to announce the effort.

“We have a system that is not a level playing field for all of us,” said Jameel Ghuari of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, urging a multi-faith effort to expand health care to the needy. “We must focus on this issue of health care and making sure that affordable health care is available to all of our citizens, without discrimination. This is a battle that will not be won in a moment, it will not be won in a year. It will take all of our lives.”

Walker’s controversial Medicaid proposal won federal approval in January. Under his plan, about 80,000 poor residents who have incomes between 100 percent and 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) will be kicked off of BadgerCare on April 1 and siphoned off into the state’s Obamacare marketplace, where they can buy private insurance. In exchange, about 83,000 other, poorer childless adults will be newly eligible for Medicaid (although the overall effect is still expected to be a net cut to the state Medicaid program).

It’s ultimately a raw deal for the poor.

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Read original post here: Interfaith Leaders In Wisconsin Are Fasting Every Saturday During Lent To Urge Medicaid Expansion


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