Ladies and Gentlemen: U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner

When Anthony Weiner breaks through the fake DC collegiality and tells it like it is on healthcare (“I mean, you guys have chutzpah. The Republican Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of insurance companies.”) the Republicans get offended and ask that his “words be taken down” (disciplinary procedure for “inappropriate language”).

So Anthony Weiner retracts his statement, and then goes on to say (this is at about the 2:25 mark in the video):

Make no mistake about it, every single Republican I have ever met in my entire life is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.

Awesome.  My favorite moment is when the Republican asks that his words be taken down the first time, and Weiner just crosses his arms and tells him “you really don’t wanna go here.”  The Video:

Still coming to a hospital near you…

In case you had forgotten, the last Catholic hospital in NYC is still in danger of closing its doors.

St. Vincent’s is the only full-service hospital on the lower West Side.  And, according to the Advocate, was a major player at the epicenter of treating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s.

A phonebank to prevent the closure is scheduled for 5pm today at 101 6th Avenue.

Health Care Event Tonight: Spoken Word Town Hall

MYDer Matthew Bishop passes along this awesome event tonight in Brooklyn:

Spoken word artists (even a limited open mic in the beginning) will speak out about health care and attendees will be signing hospital scrubs to send to DC lawmakers in support of the Every Patient Matters campaign.

Should be a blast, and incase you’ve never been to a spoken word event – let me just tell you they are totally cool. Hope you can swing by!

Tonight (Thurs): 7-10 pm
Habana Outpost (Lowpost)
757 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY
Map It

Must Watch re: The Health Care Battle

If you haven’t seen it yet.. Olbermann really delivers..

Obama Woos Docs On Healthcare Reform

In one of his first major speeches on health care reform, President Obama addressed the American Medical Association (AMA) in Chicago earlier this afternoon, in an attempt to pacify concerns about a public system (and feared decreased reimbursements, similar to Medicare) and to persuade one of the most important stakeholder groups to support health care coverage for the 46 million Americans that are currently uninsured.

When it comes to the cost of our health care, then, the status quo is unsustainable. Reform is not a luxury, but a necessity. I know there has been much discussion about what reform would cost, and rightly so. This is a test of whether we – Democrats and Republicans alike – are serious about holding the line on new spending and restoring fiscal discipline.

However, before Obama even finished his remarks to the AMA, Rep. Eric Cantor, a Republican from Virginia and the minority whip, issued his own statement:

Democrats are touting a government-run health care option that creates an unlevel playing field leading to the destruction of the private market, reducing choice and putting Washington bureaucrats in charge of family health care decision . . . It’s time for the administration to end the happy talk and get down to the difficult decisions ahead.

And it may be time for the GOP to stop fear-mongering the general public with a government-run health care plan, as the majority of Americans will keep the insurance and doctors they already have and like, and hopefully see reduced costs and better health outcomes across the board. It’s early in what is sure to be a vicious fight, and this is just the beginning — expect to see nastier and increasingly misleading panic attacks from those opposed to health care reform in the upcoming months.

For an illuminating reality check on the problems with our health care system, check out Atul Gawande’s New Yorker article, a White House ”must-read,” which Obama mentioned again in his speech today.

Marisa is the Chair of MYD’s Healthcare Issue Committee.