Weiner endorses health care bill, but not all of it

Health care legislation put Congressman Anthony Weiner in a pickle.

Though he disagrees with certain pieces of the bill that passed last weekend in the House of Representatives, he agrees with its general goals. Still, he is pushing for its passage in the Senate.

Weiner, a Democratic congressman who represents parts of Queens and Brooklyn, appeared before the Broadway Democrats on Thursday evening to elucidate the bill and his related ideas in a forum.

Frequently hailed as a strong proponent of health care reform and the “public option,” Weiner outlined three main problems that the bill aims to solve: the closing of hospitals because of individuals’ inability to pay for emergency room health insurance; the reluctance of employers to pay for health insurance; and the lack of a single, overarching body that would regulate health care.

“Why are we putting individual store owners in charge of who gets health care? As long as the notion of health care as a function of the marketplace is in place, there is no room for choice in health care,” Weiner said. “We’ve fallen in love with this notion of health care as a function of the marketplace, and it’s just not working.”

Though Weiner agreed that this bill is a step in the right direction toward creating a universal health care system, he said the creators of the bill handled their charge improperly.

“This is nowhere close to a bad bill. Almost overnight a lot of Americans will have a single payer plan,” he said. But, he added, “We’ve made some serious political and strategic blunders in the way we’ve messaged this thing.”

Weiner sees two main problems with the bill: the addition of the Stupak Amendment, which would outlaw abortion paid for by tax dollars, and the elimination of the public option, a health insurance plan financed entirely by premiums paid by each individual.

“Having the public option and Stupak language in the bill is a deal breaker for a lot of people,” he commented. “We’re already at a compromise. But it was an easy vote for me to vote yes on the bill because of how many people will get health care.”

Those present at the forum seemed most concerned with figuring out how to carry out Weiner’s legislative ideas locally.

Joyce Goodman, a member of the Steering Committee who plans topics and speakers for the Broadway Democrats, said, “I’m looking for a way to get involved. I think we have to let our own electives know how important the public option is for other people. I think the Democrats are at risk in the next election if we don’t get a good law out of all of this.”

Miriam Kahn, a health care practitioner, came to the meeting after seeing a flyer for the event on her bus ride home. She said she believes that community involvement is important, saying, “They need to get more involved. People need more energy, inspiration, and hope. I want to see an exchange and sharing of ideas, finding commonalities between people.”

Deirdre Hamlin, a self-described community activist, emphasized the power of the community reaching out to forming opinions on health care and the bill’s effects. “It’s good to meet up with other people so we can seek ways to help ourselves and the community.”

Weiner emphasized the importance of passing the bill through to the next stage of legislation as the most immediate course of action.

“It’s a damn meat locker in there,” he said about the Senate. “We’re all just waiting for them to do their segment.”