Awareness | Debate | Action
America's Great Health Care in Despair
When powerful corporations with legal and eternal person-hood write the laws of a great nation, you get a shameful hypocrisy, incapable of fulfilling a Hippocratic oath. Which leads me to ask; why doesn't the corporation with person-hood have to take a Hippocratic oath? Our system of government is a hollow shell of its principled past.
Why can the rest of the world's powerful nations take care of all of their citizens health-care, but the USA can't?
If you are a US citizen, please take a moment to look at both sides of the health-care debate, and please look at the sources of the information to see who is trying to influence you, and why.
THE BILL MOYERS JOURNAL - July 10th, 2009 - Click here to watch the video
With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform.
Excerpts From The Transcript
WENDELL POTTER: I went home, to visit relatives. And I picked up the local newspaper and I saw that a health care expedition was being held a few miles up the road, in Wise, Virginia.
BILL MOYERS: So you drove there?
WENDELL POTTER: I did. I... It was being held at a Wise County Fairground. I took my camera. I took some pictures... I didn't know what to expect. I just assumed that it would be, you know, like a health-- booths set up and people just getting their blood pressure checked and things like that.
But what I saw were doctors who were set up to provide care in animal stalls. Or they'd erected tents, to care for people. I mean, there was no privacy. In some cases-- and I've got some pictures of people being treated on gurneys, on rain-soaked pavement.
And I saw people lined up, standing in line or sitting in these long, long lines, waiting to get care. People drove from South Carolina and Georgia and Kentucky, Tennessee-- all over the region, because they knew that this was being done. A lot of them heard about it from word of mouth.
There could have been people and probably were people that I had grown up with. They could have been people who grew up at the house down the road, in the house down the road from me. And that made it real to me.
BILL MOYERS: What did you think?
WENDELL POTTER: It was absolutely stunning. It was like being hit by lightning. It was almost-- what country am I in? It just didn't seem to be a possibility that I was in the United States.
....
BILL MOYERS: As this debate unfolds in the next month, into the fall, what should we be watching for? Tell us as an insider what to look for that is more than meets the eye?
WENDELL POTTER: Well, what happens is they will continue this charm offensive, until there's actual legislative language. And what that means, of course, is that right now, you're not really seeing the bills before the House and the Senate that will actually be voted on. When we see the actual legislation, when there's something before Congress, and it will happen, presumably, within the next few weeks, you'll start seeing a lot more criticism of it.
And the special interests will be attacking this or that. The AMA will be upset about something. The pharmaceutical industry will be upset about something. The insurance industry will not like this or that. It's, you know, a lot of money is made in this country off sick people. And then you'll start seeing a lot more of the behind-the-scenes attacks on this legislation, in an attempt to kill it. The status quo is what would work best for these industries.
BILL MOYERS: In other words, if the industry is able to kill reform, or the Democrats and the Republicans can't agree on a proposal, that's what the industry really wants.
WENDELL POTTER: Exactly. And it happened in '93 and '94. And just about every time there has been significant legislation before Congress, the industry has been able to kill it. Yeah, the status quo works for them. They don't like to have any regulation forced on them or laws forced on them. They don't want to have any competition from the federal government, or any additional regulation from the federal government. They say they will accept it. But the behavior is that they will not-- you know, they'll not do anything after say this plan fails.
Say nothing happens. They're saying now what they did in '93, '94. "We think preexisting conditions is a bad thing," for example. Let's watch and see if they really take the initiative to do anything constructive. I bet you won't see it. They didn't then.
BILL MOYERS: Well, on the basis of the past performance, and on the basis of your own experience in the industry, can we believe them when they say they will do these things voluntarily?
WENDELL POTTER: I don't think you can. I think that they will implement things that make them more efficient. And that enhance shareholder value. And if what they do contributes to that, maybe so. But now, they do say, they are in favor of an individual mandate. They want us all to be insured.
BILL MOYERS: For the government to require every one of us to have some policy.
WENDELL POTTER: Exactly. And that sounds great. It is an important thing that everyone be enrolled in some kind of a benefit plan. They don't want a public plan. They want all the uninsured to have to be enrolled in a private insurance plan. They want-- they see those 50 million people as potentially 50 million new customers. So they're in favor of that. They see this as a way to essentially lock them into the system, and ensure their profitability in the future. The strategy is as it was in 1993 and '94, to conduct this charm offensive on the surface. But behind the scenes, to use front groups and third-party advocates and ideological allies. And those on Capitol Hill who are aligned with them, philosophically, to do the dirty work. To demean and scare people about a government-run plan, try to make people not even remember that Medicare, their Medicare program, is a government-run plan that has operated a lot more efficiently.
And also, the people who are enrolled in our Medicare plan like it better. The satisfaction ratings are higher in our Medicare program, a government-run program, than in private insurance. But they don't want you to remember that or to know that, and they want to scare you into thinking that through the anecdotes they tell you, that any government-run system, particularly those in Canada, and UK, and France that the people are very unhappy.
And that these people will have to wait in long lines to get care, or wait a long time to get care. I'd like to take them down to Wise County. I'd like the president to come down to Wise County, and see some real lines of Americans, standing in line to get their care.
***
Wendell Potter should be deposed. Where is Elliot Spitzer when you need him?
THE BILL MOYERS JOURNAL - July 10th, 2009 - Click here to read the whole transcript
DOWNLOAD PODCAST HERE
Why can the rest of the world's powerful nations take care of all of their citizens health-care, but the USA can't?
If you are a US citizen, please take a moment to look at both sides of the health-care debate, and please look at the sources of the information to see who is trying to influence you, and why.
THE BILL MOYERS JOURNAL - July 10th, 2009 - Click here to watch the video
With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform.
Excerpts From The Transcript
WENDELL POTTER: I went home, to visit relatives. And I picked up the local newspaper and I saw that a health care expedition was being held a few miles up the road, in Wise, Virginia.
BILL MOYERS: So you drove there?
WENDELL POTTER: I did. I... It was being held at a Wise County Fairground. I took my camera. I took some pictures... I didn't know what to expect. I just assumed that it would be, you know, like a health-- booths set up and people just getting their blood pressure checked and things like that.
But what I saw were doctors who were set up to provide care in animal stalls. Or they'd erected tents, to care for people. I mean, there was no privacy. In some cases-- and I've got some pictures of people being treated on gurneys, on rain-soaked pavement.
And I saw people lined up, standing in line or sitting in these long, long lines, waiting to get care. People drove from South Carolina and Georgia and Kentucky, Tennessee-- all over the region, because they knew that this was being done. A lot of them heard about it from word of mouth.
There could have been people and probably were people that I had grown up with. They could have been people who grew up at the house down the road, in the house down the road from me. And that made it real to me.
BILL MOYERS: What did you think?
WENDELL POTTER: It was absolutely stunning. It was like being hit by lightning. It was almost-- what country am I in? It just didn't seem to be a possibility that I was in the United States.
....
BILL MOYERS: As this debate unfolds in the next month, into the fall, what should we be watching for? Tell us as an insider what to look for that is more than meets the eye?
WENDELL POTTER: Well, what happens is they will continue this charm offensive, until there's actual legislative language. And what that means, of course, is that right now, you're not really seeing the bills before the House and the Senate that will actually be voted on. When we see the actual legislation, when there's something before Congress, and it will happen, presumably, within the next few weeks, you'll start seeing a lot more criticism of it.
And the special interests will be attacking this or that. The AMA will be upset about something. The pharmaceutical industry will be upset about something. The insurance industry will not like this or that. It's, you know, a lot of money is made in this country off sick people. And then you'll start seeing a lot more of the behind-the-scenes attacks on this legislation, in an attempt to kill it. The status quo is what would work best for these industries.
BILL MOYERS: In other words, if the industry is able to kill reform, or the Democrats and the Republicans can't agree on a proposal, that's what the industry really wants.
WENDELL POTTER: Exactly. And it happened in '93 and '94. And just about every time there has been significant legislation before Congress, the industry has been able to kill it. Yeah, the status quo works for them. They don't like to have any regulation forced on them or laws forced on them. They don't want to have any competition from the federal government, or any additional regulation from the federal government. They say they will accept it. But the behavior is that they will not-- you know, they'll not do anything after say this plan fails.
Say nothing happens. They're saying now what they did in '93, '94. "We think preexisting conditions is a bad thing," for example. Let's watch and see if they really take the initiative to do anything constructive. I bet you won't see it. They didn't then.
BILL MOYERS: Well, on the basis of the past performance, and on the basis of your own experience in the industry, can we believe them when they say they will do these things voluntarily?
WENDELL POTTER: I don't think you can. I think that they will implement things that make them more efficient. And that enhance shareholder value. And if what they do contributes to that, maybe so. But now, they do say, they are in favor of an individual mandate. They want us all to be insured.
BILL MOYERS: For the government to require every one of us to have some policy.
WENDELL POTTER: Exactly. And that sounds great. It is an important thing that everyone be enrolled in some kind of a benefit plan. They don't want a public plan. They want all the uninsured to have to be enrolled in a private insurance plan. They want-- they see those 50 million people as potentially 50 million new customers. So they're in favor of that. They see this as a way to essentially lock them into the system, and ensure their profitability in the future. The strategy is as it was in 1993 and '94, to conduct this charm offensive on the surface. But behind the scenes, to use front groups and third-party advocates and ideological allies. And those on Capitol Hill who are aligned with them, philosophically, to do the dirty work. To demean and scare people about a government-run plan, try to make people not even remember that Medicare, their Medicare program, is a government-run plan that has operated a lot more efficiently.
And also, the people who are enrolled in our Medicare plan like it better. The satisfaction ratings are higher in our Medicare program, a government-run program, than in private insurance. But they don't want you to remember that or to know that, and they want to scare you into thinking that through the anecdotes they tell you, that any government-run system, particularly those in Canada, and UK, and France that the people are very unhappy.
And that these people will have to wait in long lines to get care, or wait a long time to get care. I'd like to take them down to Wise County. I'd like the president to come down to Wise County, and see some real lines of Americans, standing in line to get their care.
***
Wendell Potter should be deposed. Where is Elliot Spitzer when you need him?
THE BILL MOYERS JOURNAL - July 10th, 2009 - Click here to read the whole transcript
DOWNLOAD PODCAST HERE
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Comment by Cromag on July 11, 2009 at 11:14pm
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Here is the link to Obama's False Friends of Health Reform
by Wendell Potter on July 1, 2009
On Center for Media and Democracy
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A Health Insurance Insider Blows the Whistle on the Industry’s Abus...
“My name is Wendell Potter and for 20 years, I worked as a senior executive at health insurance companies, and I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick—all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors.”
With that powerful indictment, Mr. Potter began his testimony on “Consumer Choices and Transparency in the Health Insurance Industry” before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on June 24, 2009.
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U.S Senate, Full Committee Meeting - Consumer Choices and Transparency in the Health Insurance Industry
The best way to thank Wendell Potter is to act on his disclosure by not allowing the Senate to give in to the special interests by ripping the heart out of Obama’s health care plan!
Stand with President Obama and Dr. Howard Dean to demand the choice of public health insurance by writing your Senator today!
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Comment by Harold Hellickson on August 11, 2009 at 2:01pm
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Just minutes ago, I received an e-mail opinion from a friend. It follows:
There is no Democracy - Reformed Health Care is a Fantasy
The dance of death goes on. With hangmen like the health insurance industry and Big Pharma assisted by a corrupt Congress the American people are about to be subjected to a botched execution again. Corporate controlled democracy has led us from a First World nation to the Second World. Not enough attention has been paid to the definition of the Second World yet. It's a place where many citizens live in tents or under bridges. Where the food in Dumpsters is mostly still edible. Where the streets are only half filled with sewerage. Where, of course, millions of people are without health care. Where a tiny fraction of the population controls most of the wealth and all of the power. Where being a corrupt politician or a dishonest banker are positions of honor. Where honest work for decent wages has been replaced by service jobs which routinely provide wages below the poverty level . Where the rich and powerfull send the children of the poor to die in senseless wars. Where justice is used to punish the poor who are sent to prisons managed by the corporations. Where private armies made up of murderous thugs will be sent to suppress the people when they grow weary of their enslavement. I could go on but the Second World is not a fantasy and we are at its doorstep.
The former president was an inarticulate moron who served willingly as a chubby little boy for every pederast in the corporate world. A inbred plutocrat who lacked only the crossed eyes and kinky tail of a low quality Siamese cat. The current president is following his lack of principles and dishonesty very closely. He claims to be a man of compromise but all he is doing is to compromise the survival of democracy which this nation needs so badly.
For what it's worth, I couldn't agree with him more.
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