By Anna Gustafson
U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) had plenty of advice to take back with him to Washington, D.C., after he held a round table at Elmhurst Hospital Monday, during which a bevy of health officials and community leaders addressed everything from the cost of insuring employees for small businesses to undocumented immigrants in the health care system.
“I have five full-time employees, and it would cost between $650 and $700 per employee every month to pay for their insurance, which is unaffordable,” Freddy Castiblanco, who was once a doctor in Colombia and now owns the Terraza 7 Train Cafe in Elmhurst, told Crowley at the Monday morning event.
Castiblanco, like Crowley and many of the other 50-odd individuals at the round table, said he supports a public option in a comprehensive health care bill federal lawmakers are anticipated to vote on by the end of the summer.
Crowley has backed President Barack Obama’s proposal to mandate Americans to be insured, similar to how all drivers must purchase car insurance. Individuals would have the option to join a government-run insurance group, which people like Crowley and Castiblanco said would force private insurance companies to provide more competitive and affordable prices.
“This is good for Queens overall,” Crowley said of legislation that is supposed to create more affordable health insurance for millions more Americans. “We have a not-so-good level of uninsured and under-insured people, and this will allow people who haven’t had access to health care to get some.”
Sara Cullinane of Make The Road New York, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of immigrants and economically disadvantage individuals, said she hopes the bill ultimately passed by the U.S. House and U.S. Senate will lift the five-year wait for immigrants who have attained resident status in the country and want to receive Medicaid.
“Immigrants here in Queens are contributing so much to the economy through taxes, and we believe immigrants should have the opportunity to purchase quality, affordable health care.”
Crowley is holding a series of health care forums. He sponsored one such talk in the Bronx last month.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
