First-term Michigan Legislator Leads Innovative Approach to Health Policy

Representative Paul DeWeese (Flemming Fellow ’99) hit the ground running his first year in office. "When Paul decided to take his activism to the legislature, his reputation preceded him and he was elected House Majority Whip during his first days in office," recalls a colleague. A physician, DeWeese is now Chair of the House Republican Task Force on Access to Health Care for the Working Uninsured.

Using information gathered from town meetings, the task force is now crafting legislation that replicates successful programs from around the state.

One such idea, the Health Care for Working Families Act, would create innovative community partnerships among health care consumers, employers and state government. Modeled after successful Michigan programs in Wayne and Muskegon counties, each partner would make equal investments that would be coordinated to increase access to health care and create a low-cost subsidy program for working families without health insurance.

This community-based approach to policymaking fits DeWeese’s values. "Each of us is part of a larger community," he says. "Government can be a positive tool to create a fair, just and diverse social environment."

DeWeese began his public service work as an emergency medical director of a local hospital. Participating in an international tour to study health care in the in the early 1980s spurred his interest in how communities provide access to health care.