May 1999

An Interview with Rep. Paul DeWeese

by Deanna S. Tarry, Health Policy Intern

A freshman member of the Michigan House of Representatives, chair of the Republican Task Force for the Uninsured, and vice-chair of the House Health Policy Committee, Rep. Paul DeWeese (R-Williamston) is showing his commitment to health care by enthusiastically immersing himself in health issues. In a recent conversation with Public Sector Consultants, Representative DeWeese shared his views on expanding health care access in Michigan and discussed his first legislative session.

History of Committment

Each generation must “work on creating a caring and decent community,” says DeWeese, whose interest in serving the uninsured dates to his medical school education.

While studying at Wayne State University, DeWeese worked with Michigan State University to develop the Friendship Medical Clinic on Michigan Avenue in Lansing, which later was taken over by the Ingham County Health Department. The clinic offered to the homeless, poor, and uninsured no-cost health care as well as medicine donated by pharmaceutical companies. 

After receiving his medical degree and becoming an emergency room physician in Lansing, Representative DeWeese continued to serve the uninsured through the Medical Access Project (MAP). Coordinated by some 40 community leaders, MAP issues cards through the Red Cross to people living at or below 200 percent of the poverty level (for a family of three, the poverty level is $13,880 annually), giving them access to health care services with certain providers in the Lansing area. Representative DeWeese credits this project with illustrating to him the importance of creating public programs that people can access with dignity and without stigma.

Task Force for the Uninsured

Although only a freshman House member, Representative DeWeese was asked by the Speaker to chair the Republican Task Force for the Uninsured, which allows him to continue his commitment to serving this population. The task force, which probably will total eight Republicans, will hold five or six public hearings throughout the state on the subject of access to health care. The group then will identify the key issues and needs expressed in these hearings and present recommendations to the House GOP caucus.

Representative DeWeese believes that all people deserve to have a package of services available to them that will significantly improve their health care. Although he believes universal coverage—which he defines as providing all health care services to all people—is not realistic at this point, incremental reform can establish basic coverage for everyone. The representative has formulated a program to offer health benefits to low-income workers. It is modeled after programs in Ingham and Wayne County, and some details of the plan are as follows:

• A package of benefits including primary care, pharmaceuticals, x-ray and laboratory services, outpatient specialty care, and possibly inpatient hospital care, will be developed and connected to managed-care plans.
• Companies will be eligible to participate in the program if at least 10 percent of their workers earn $50,000 a year or less.
• Each worker, his/her employer, and the county in which the business is located will form a partnership, and each will pay into the program, with the worker paying co-payments for services similar to those for the MIChild Program.
• The program will work on a graduated system: As workers earn more, their co-payments will increase.

Representative DeWeese stresses that such a program could be particularly helpful in extending health care coverage to employees and their spouses who have children enrolled in MIChild or Medicaid. He believes that the legislature can make the program sufficiently affordable that companies, though not required to participate, will want to buy into it. 

The Freshman Experience

What has surprised Representative DeWeese most about the legislative process is what he calls the “pit bull politics of polarization.” This tongue twister is meant to conjure images of “snarling, acquisitive interest groups” demanding that their needs be met. He also worries that the legislative process is overly focused on who “wins” and who “loses” rather than what is in the public’s best interest. 

The representative believes that political parties were not meant to drive policy, only to elect candidates. He therefore wants to listen to Democrats’ arguments and recommendations. He is disappointed at how seldom party lines are crossed—how reluctant legislators are to lend credibility to their competitors’ arguments. 

Representative DeWeese has learned that the legislative process is slow and arduous. It takes longer than he expected to garner enough support for a bill to make sure that it will not be waylaid by interest groups, legislative committees, or the administration. The majority of the work is unseen, devoted to laying the groundwork for the passage of bills.

The representative is beginning to realize that he may not be able to accomplish all he originally had anticipated. He accepts this and tries to remind himself of advice he received from Governor Engler, who said that as a legislator, one “probably can accomplish anything but not everything.” 

Being a physician gives Representative DeWeese opportunities most other freshman legislators do not have. For example, it is uncommon for a freshman to be appointed vice-chair of a standing committee and also to chair a task force.

His health care background also gives him influence in arguing for health care and when speaking on such related issues as how the tobacco settlement money shall be used (he supports more of it being spent on public health) or whether the death penalty shall be instituted in Michigan (he is opposed). 

Other Interests

In addition to increasing access to health care, Representative DeWeese hopes to help achieve what he terms “racial reconciliation.” Concerned with the barriers facing people of color in society, the representative would like to use the political process to address the issues and disparities that racial minorities experience. He believes that progress has been made with regard to race issues, but color still affects an individual’s life opportunities and health. He wants to make medical systems culturally sensitive, so that people of color feel comfortable accessing them.

The representative has worked extensively with Teach Michigan in its efforts to give urban parents an opportunity to improve their children’s access to good education. In essence, Teach Michigan believes that state dollars should be given to families to allow them to choose the school their children will attend. He believes these efforts will “empower the poor, giving them access to essential services with dignity and increasing their quality of life.”

Michigan’s Urban Homestead Act is another of the representative’s efforts to reduce disparities, this time in housing, between the disadvantaged and the general population. He is proud of this program, which promotes home ownership in Michigan’s core cities for people who are at or below the Michigan median income (roughly $37,000 in 1998) and meet certain other qualifications.

Plan for the Future

Representative DeWeese’s objective is to advocate for those who are vulnerable by increasing their access to health care, their options for viable housing, and their opportunities for education. He says success is certain if we “invest in bootstraps,” giving individuals the means by which to succeed and taking precautions so nobody is left behind.