An Insider Speaks Out

Wendell Potter, a former high-ranking PR executive for Cigna wrote an expose of the health care industry. The following is an excerpt. The entire article can be found here.
And here is a related article that exposes numerous practices engaged in by the 'health care' industry.
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I'm the former insurance industry insider now speaking out about how big for-profit insurers have hijacked our health care system and turned it into a giant ATM for Wall Street investors, and how the industry is using its massive wealth and influence to determine what is (and is not) included in the health care reform legislation members of Congress are now writing.

[I]n recent years I had grown increasingly uncomfortable serving as one of the industry's top PR executives. In addition to my responsibilities at CIGNA . . . I was in a unique position to see not only how Wall Street analysts and investors influence decisions insurance company executives make but also how the industry has carried out behind-the-scenes PR and lobbying campaigns to kill or weaken any health care reform efforts that threatened insurers' profitability.

I also have seen how the industry's practices . . . have contributed to the tragedy of nearly 50 million people being uninsured as well as to the growing number of Americans who . . . are underinsured. An estimated 25 million of us now fall into that category.

What I saw happening over the past few years was a steady movement away from the concept of insurance and toward "individual responsibility," a term used a lot by insurers and their ideological allies. This is playing out as a continuous shifting of the financial burden of health care costs away from insurers and employers and onto the backs of individuals.

As an industry spokesman, I was expected to put a positive spin on this trend that the industry created and euphemistically refers to as "consumerism" and to promote so-called "consumer-driven" health plans. I ultimately reached the point of feeling like a huckster.

I thought I could live with being a well-paid huckster and hang in there a few more years until I could retire. I probably would have if I hadn't made a completely spur-of-the-moment decision a couple of years ago that changed the direction of my life. While visiting my folks in northeast Tennessee where I grew up, I read in the local paper about a health "expedition" being held that weekend a few miles up U.S. 23 in Wise, Va. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals were volunteering their time to provide free medical care to people who lived in the area. What intrigued me most was that Remote Area Medical, a non-profit group whose original mission was to provide free care to people in remote villages in South America, was organizing the expedition. I decided to check it out.

That 50-mile stretch of U.S. 23, which twists through the mountains where thousands of men have made their living working in the coalmines, turned out to be my "road to Damascus."

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I reached the Wise County Fairgrounds, where the expedition was being held. Hundreds of people had camped out all night in the parking lot to be assured of seeing a doctor or dentist when the gates opened. By the time I got there, long lines of people stretched from every animal stall and tent where the volunteers were treating patients.

That scene was so visually and emotionally stunning it was all I could do to hold back tears. How could it be that citizens of the richest nation in the world were being treated this way?

A couple of weeks later I was boarding a corporate jet to fly from Philadelphia to a meeting in Connecticut. When the flight attendant served my lunch on gold-rimmed china and gave me a gold-plated knife and fork to eat it with, I realized for the first time that someone's insurance premiums were paying for me to travel in such luxury. I also realized that one of the reasons those people in Wise County had to wait in long lines to be treated in animal stalls was because our Wall Street-driven health care system has created one of the most inequitable health care systems on the planet.

Although I quit my job last year, I did not make a final decision to speak out as a former insider until recently when it became clear to me that the insurance industry and its allies (often including drug and medical device makers, business groups and even the American Medical Association) were succeeding in shaping the current debate on health care reform.

I heard members of Congress reciting talking points like the ones I used to write to scare people away from real reform. I'll have more to say about that over the coming weeks and months, but, for now, remember this: whenever you hear a politician or pundit use the term "government-run health care" and warn that the creation of a public health insurance option that would compete with private insurers (or heaven forbid, a single-payer system like the one Canada has) will "lead us down the path to socialism," know that the original source of the sound bite most likely was some flack like I used to be.

Bottom line: I ultimately decided the stakes are too high for me to just sit on the sidelines and let the special interests win again. So I have joined forces with thousands of other Americans who are trying to persuade our lawmakers to listen to us for a change, not just to the insurance and drug company executives who are spending millions to shape reform to benefit them and the Wall Street hedge fund managers they are beholden to.

Take it from me, a former insider, who knows what really motivates those folks. You need to know where the hard-earned money you pay in health insurance premiums -- if you lucky enough to have coverage at all -- really goes.

I decided to speak out knowing that some people will not like what I have to say and will do all they can to discredit me.

I'm writing this because, knowing how things work, I'm fully expecting insurers' PR firms to quietly feed friends of the industry . . . with anything they can think of to discredit me and what I say. This will go on behind the scenes because the insurers will want to preserve the image they are working so hard to cultivate -- as a group of kind and caring folks who think only of you and your health and are working hard as real partners to Congress and the White House to find "a uniquely American solution" to what ails our system.

I expect this because I have worked closely with the industry's PR firms over many years whenever the insurers were being threatened with bad publicity, litigation or legislation that might hinder profits.

One of the reasons I chose to become affiliated with the Center for Media and Democracy is because of the important work the organization does to expose often devious, dishonest and unethical PR practices that further the self interests of big corporations and special interest groups at the expense of the American people and the democratic principles this country was founded on.

After a long career in PR, I am looking forward to providing an insider's perspective as a senior fellow at CMD, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak out for the rights and dignity of ordinary people. The people of Wise County and every county deserve much better than to be left behind to suffer or die ahead of their time due to Wall Street's efforts to keep our government from ensuring that all Americans have real access to first-class health care.

No Way to Treat a President

-- by Eugene Robinson [click on the title for the full article]

"[T]he right-wing Republicans in Congress, especially those in the House, are all too sincere. And that's the problem.

Last November's election so wounded the GOP that the nation is now suffering collateral damage. The Republicans who were punished at the polls for the failures of the Bush years were those in the most evenly contested districts, which meant they tended to be relatively moderate. Those who represent solidly Republican districts were safe, and their greatest fear isn't being defeated by a Democrat next fall but being challenged by a primary opponent who's even more of a right-wing yahoo.

There are quite a few Democratic pragmatists in Congress -- which is why health-care reform is being worked over so thoroughly by the Blue Dogs. In the Republican ranks, especially in the House, pragmatists are few and ideologues are legion. Many of them probably believe the nonsense they spout about creeping socialism and an urgent threat to America As We Know It. But it's still nonsense. The ideologues' sincerity just makes this toxic, rejectionist rhetoric more dangerous."
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I hadn't put together the dynamics of the far-right move of Congress -- particularly the House of Representatives. Robinson clarified that for me and I owe him a debt of gratitude for the realization.

And, of course, he's right on the other matter, too -- the rhetoric is, indeed, dangerous. It can lead to actions by other sincere people. That is what frightens me so much and that is why, every time I see Obama in public, I fervently hope he is wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Great News! Martinez Pulls a Palin.

This is old news, I know, but I hadn't learned the details till today. And I'm filled with revulsion for my country in general and the Rethuglicans in particular. And the Demo-lie-down-and-dies should have stopped it after the fact—so they're just as guilty of betraying the Constitution as these three bandits.

From Mel Martinez' biography at Wikipedia:
Despite an absence of a quorum, the Senate approved The Palm Sunday Compromise, formally known as the Act for the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo (S. 686 CPS), in the early hours of March 20, 2005, to allow the case of Terri Schiavo to be moved into a federal court. The bill passed unanimously by voice vote and no formal record of the vote was made. Bill Frist (R-TN), Rick Santorum (R-PA), and Mel Martínez (R-FL), the only Senators present, voted for the bill with the remaining 97 Senators not present.

The act was strongly criticized by many on both sides of the political divide for the following reasons.

* The law applied to only one individual. Comparisons were drawn with bills of attainder, which are specifically prohibited by the United States Constitution. While some saw this as a legally flawed analysis since bills of attainder take away individual rights rather than bestow them, the rights of Michael Schiavo, as Terri's guardian, to make decisions on her behalf were stripped away.

* The law was a violation of the separation of powers. Many argued that Congress had exceeded its powers by substituting its judgment for that of the courts and directing the courts on how to proceed. This argument was addressed by Judge Stanley Birch in a highly critical concurrence with the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, given on March 30, 2005.

* The law failed to create any substantive rights. The law enacted by Congress obliged the federal courts only to review the rulings of the Florida state courts to determine whether procedural due process had been afforded. However, there was no serious argument that the Florida courts had violated any constitutionally mandated procedural requirements. Nineteen different Florida state court judges, at various times, considered the requests on appeal in six state appellate courts.

As in the state courts, all of the Schindlers' federal petitions on behalf of Mrs. Schiavo and appeals were denied, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari – effectively ending the Schindler family legal options.
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At the same time as the above law-aimed-at-one-person was passed, the so-called Sciavo memo surfaced, causing a political firestorm. The memo was written by Brian Darling, the legal counsel to Florida Republican senator Mel Martinez. It suggested the Schiavo case offered "a great political issue" that would appeal to the party's base [core supporters] and could be used against Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida, because he had refused to sponsor the bill. [Nelson won re-election in 2006, btw. So much for the best laid plans of mice and lice.]
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Errrrrrrrrrmmmmm—
No one bothered to suggest that 3 men out of a body of 100 ramming a 'law' through was improper? Hello?!?
At least their plan to keep the agonies of the family going failed. The federal court agreed with the state courts. The circus ended and Terri was allowed to die quietly—at last.

The only good thing I can find to say about Martinez is that he pulled a Palin. He has cut-and-run a year and a half before his term is up.
He had said shortly after taking office he planned to serve only one term.
From here it looks as if he took on the job for just the amount of time he needed to pick up the perks the Senate hands out so generously. He now has a lifetime pension and life-long health care—both paid for by you and me. It's a good gig if you can get it.

So long, Mel. Good riddance. I hope your successor treats Florida better than you have—but I'm not holding my breath.

Back in April, I wrote a piece on Preserve, Protect and Defend about Obama's statement that he wanted to look forward and not pursue the people who developed and carried out the torture programs. In it, I suggested a convoluted reasoning on his part that might, in the long run, bring the perpetrators to justice.

I may not have been looking deeply enough, however.
Today I read a piece by Eugene Robinson in the Washington post. He wrote, with disgust, of the psychiatrists and physicians who participated in the torture.
And I came across this comment on the article.
Whoever gkam is, my hat is off to him or her. The reasoning is absolutely wonderful.
If this is what Obama has in mind our nation may be saved yet.
Please, please let gkam be right.
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gkam wrote:
There are large issues at stake here, and they are not all ours.

Eric Holder has no choice - he MUST investigate these crimes. But if Holder pursues the perpetrators of Shock and Awe, torture, and other war crimes, several things will happen. The conservatives will scream "politics", and the matter will forever be tainted.

It will then go to a Grand Jury, and become instantly secret. We will find out only what the government wants us to know.

What's more, we are not the aggrieved in this matter. These were international crimes, committed in foreign lands, against citizens of other countries, in direct violation of International Law. They belong in the international venue, in the jurisdictions of international courts.

This is terrifically important: The real victims will not trust our country to deal with our own leaders. If we decide to prosecute, it will cheat those victims of those crimes out of THEIR justice, in THEIR jurisdictions, the actual locality of the crimes.

I believe Obama was intentionally waiting, giving time to those building their international cases from the continuous streams of information emanating from the squealing rats jumping ship, and the lice hopping off the rats.

Obama knows that one of the primary criteria of the International Criminal Court is whether it is likely that the offenders will be tried in their own country. By "not looking back", Obama sent a signal to those prosecutors elsewhere to start their investigations. They are doing so as we type.

Brilliant!

As the Big Bad Boys get their day in the Dock of the Hague, we will deal here at home with those who corrupted our Department of Justice and looted the treasury.

That way, everyone wins - we get justice, the aggrieved get their day in their courts, tyranny is exposed and prosecuted, and the entire world gets an object lesson in rampant violence and International Evil.

Justice be done!

The Hubble Looks at Nothing