Someone in the Main Stream Media Finally Interviews Wendell Potter
Bill Moyers and Amy Goodman have already interviewed Wendell Potter and I was wondering who the first person in the "main stream media" would be to bring him on. I thought it might end up being Rachel Maddow, but it turned out to be Ed Schultz instead. Good for Ed.
SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. The Republican sound machine is in full force against health care.
We gave you the "Playbook," in fact back on May 6th on this program, we went through the right wing`s messaging machine playbook; it`s a 28-page strategy memo from Republican pollster Frank Luntz. He told the Republicans to hammer basically four things when it comes to reform, that reform would be a "government takeover" by Washington bureaucrats. It would "ration" your health care. And get "between you and your doctor."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R) MINORITY LEADER: The advocates of a government takeover of health care are talking about spending trillions more, trillions more.
SEN. MIKE ENZI (R), WYOMING: This bill will allow Washington bureaucrats to ration care. The bill lays the groundwork for a government takeover of healthcare, giving Washington bureaucrats the power to prevent patients from seeing the doctor they choose.
REP. KEVIN BRADY (R), TEXAS: The federal programs, agencies, commissions and mandates that will be in between the patient and their health care provider, their doctor. Why would any patient be forced to give control of their health care decisions over to this Faustian web of Washington bureaucracy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: Well, you`ve got to admit they do their homework when you ever give them anything to learn, you know.
Big insurance is lining is pockets of lawmakers. Big insurance only cares about their profits. They want lawmakers to protect their backyard, their profits. They`re voting against reforms that would really be good for consumers.
But I don`t want you to take my word for it. I want you to pay attention to this next interview. We have a former insurance insider.
Joining me now is Wendell Potter. He is a senior fellow on health care for the center for media and democracy. He`s also a former vice president for the insurance giant Cigna.
Mr. Potter, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time. Is the industry telling the truth to the American people and telling the truth to those in the Congress?
WENDELL POTTER, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR MEDIA & DEMOCRACY: No, they`re not. And that`s one of the reasons why I left my job at Cigna and why I decided to speak out. I didn`t want to be a part of that -- those lies and misleading statements once again.
I`ve been a part of them in the past and I just didn`t want to do that again.
SCHULTZ: Where are the insurance companies making their big profits when it comes to health care? What are they doing to consumers?
POTTER: What they`re doing to consumers is, number one -- they`re shifting a lot more of the financial burden from them and the employers onto the shoulders of working men and women. And they also are very actively looking at claims when they`re submitted. And they`re acting -- taking action to dump people when they`re sick, either in the individual market or in the small groups.
So a lot of small employers no longer can afford health care because of the actions taken by the insurance companies to get rid of them when their employees` claims are a little bit higher than the underwriters expected.
SCHULTZ: Mr. Potter, do you think that there`s a lot of people in the industry that feel the same way you did but just didn`t follow the action you took?
POTTER: Absolutely, I know there are. I`ve gotten just dozens, actually hundreds of e-mails from people that I have worked with in the past. And most of them now former Cigna employees and employees of other companies who know me and have sent me communications to sell me, "I wish I had done that."
There are many who feel the same way.
SCHULTZ: Now, Mr. Potter recently the inspector general`s office came out with a report earlier this week stating that this out-of-network expense to Americans hits about 100 million Americans who are dealing in the health care industry, that want insurance and whatnot. And Senator Rockefeller has told us clearly that the American people are getting ripped off.
Do you think Congress believes that the American people are getting ripped off, and now of course we`ve got this inspector general`s office report to back it up? What don`t they get about what`s going on?
POTTER: I don`t think they`ve been paying attention. I think if they had been paying attention and weren`t -- as you put it -- their pockets being lined with contributions from the industry, I think that they would be outraged and it would be very willing to take action to make sure that we have a reformed, functional health care system in this country.
SCHULTZ: How much do you think they want to defeat the public option?
POTTER: Well, they`re pulling out all the stops. That`s why you`re seeing the same talking points they`ve used over the years being trotted out again. They`re ever green talking points.
They will say one thing on -- the industry is engaged in what I call the charm defense in saying that they`re all for reform; but behind the scenes, working with their allies to gut it. The public option is one of the things that they pretty much have drawn a line in the sand saying, "We can`t accept that."
SCHULTZ: And finally, Mr. Potter, give the American people, our viewers tonight, a sense who`s winning this battle. We`ve never seen a president go this far against Washington lobbyists. We`ve never seen a president go this far against the establishment when it comes to health care.
There`s a lot of pressure on the Democrats to get this done. They`ve got 60 Democrats in the Senate. They`ve got a bunch in the House. Some of the conservative Democrats are still wavering a bit. But who do you think is winning this battle right now?
POTTER: I think the president is winning. I think the advocates for health care reform are winning. It may not seem that way, when we see a headline like we saw the other day in the "Wall Street Journal," about the CBO estimating that we can`t afford it.
We can`t afford not to do this. I think the president can communicate that more as time goes by and as Congress really gets down to business. I think that we`ll see reform this time and meaningful reform.
SCHULTZ: How do the folks at Cigna treat you now?
POTTER: I haven`t heard anything from them. I`m not surprised. A lot of my former colleagues have been -- who are no longer -- who like me, former colleagues, have been contacting me. I didn`t expect that they would be visibly attacking me or even communicating with me, and they haven`t been.
SCHULTZ: Finally, why are you doing this? You did a very compelling interview with Bill Moyers. We tried to get you on the program before; I appreciate you being here tonight.
This is a brave position, I think. This is one that`s unusual for someone who worked and lived and profited in the corporate world. Why are you doing this?
POTTER: Two reasons. One, I left my job because I didn`t like where the industry was taking this country in terms of the insurance products it`s now selling. They`re pushing these so-called consumer-driven plans that are pushing more, as you put it, as you noted, of the financial burden onto consumers. We can`t afford that. The median household income is $50,000 in this country, we can`t afford more cost shifting.
Secondly, I didn`t want to be part of the lying machine again. I didn`t want to be misrepresenting reality like the industry has done and its allies have done for many years.
SCHULTZ: Ok, Mr. Potter, I appreciate your time tonight. Come back and join us again. And thanks for speaking the truth to the American people and telling us what`s going on.
POTTER: Thank you for this opportunity.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
Wendell Potter is a national hero.
It takes a lot of guts to bite the hand that fed so well.
We desperately need to get the Wall Street Mafia OUT of the health insurance business.
Single payer.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
to have only one option get real.
...but Ed's been on fire over health care, especially in the last week. I don't catch his radio show much anymore, but happened to be in the car on a long trip last week. He didn't even sound like the "middle-of-the-road" Democrat with whom I used to be so disappointed.
Maybe he's been reading his emails. Whatever it is, I hope he keeps up the pressure. It may be a drop in the bucket, but with enough drops, perhaps we get a flood, who knows?
I don't always agree with him either. But, he's very important in that he talks to the hooks and bullets crowd -- and they listen. In almost all respects other than 2nd amendment issues, they will line up with the progressive take on things and Ed serves a valuable role in getting and keeping their attention.
but that's the point! He's one of the few out there whom you can't put in a clear category, he rarely if ever seems to be playing to his audience, in other words seems to always just speak his mind, which is just one way he seems to really respect his listeners and the people he talks to on air, and he has a very sensitive BS meter, also all too rare these days.
He sounds a little too much like Lushbo, but still Ed rocks IMHO.
“If they have to know about us, we’ll tell them what to know“.
Bill Moyer's interview with Potter was excellent. The interview takes up most of his show is is extremely detailed. Well worth the listen.
wouldn't that be nice instead of watching a show and thinking oh these guys are working for us they are going to get it done for us.
Ed Schultz is the only REAL DEMOCRAT exposing ALL the lying that big business Republican mercenaries and Blue Dog democrats are perpetrating on the American public. He's the only REAL DEMOCRAT calling them out loudly and repeatedly. I listen to his radio program every day and the ED SHOW every afternoon. I'd like to see every Blue Dog democrat and republican shill debate him face to face on the ED SHOW. Actually, I'd like to see them try to bully him with their lying, loud-mouthed BS. I'd like to see Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Glen Beck in a no holds bar wresting match with REAL DEMOCRAT Ed Schultz.
Dan Quayle . . Obama's "Biggest Challenge" Is "Taming The Left Wing"
...remains the correct spelling of "potato."
I'm glad he's back. Shows us all the gravitas the 'pugnicants bring to the table.
dan whoe ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MXgc8wzfC4&fe...
O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Beck, Coulter, Hannity, etc, they ALL know that they have nothing but hot air and bullying for discourse and have everything to lose by being challenged by ANYONE with a brain and research skills (like a 7th grader). I'd love to see it happen too, but it ain't gonna.
Here is a list of elected people taking payoffs to cheat the American people and the amounts of bribes being taken. This is just from health care and insurance.
It is mind boggling to think how much these people are taking from others!
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $4,026,933)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $2,833,731)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $2,758,468)
And when you just go right to Big Insurance, the non-presidential candidates who got the biggest legalized bribes were the 7 senators who have been tasked with the job of killing single-payer:
Ben Nelson (DLC-NE- $1,196,799)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $1,184,113)
Joe Lieberman (DLC- CT- $1,036,302)
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $1,035,530)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY- $981,400)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $929,207)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA- $884,724)
We need to investigate and prosecute these criminals now. Severe jail terms are in order for these criminals!
The People?
I think this should be the new name for the Legislative Branch.
When we do get the public option, does it include dental and eye?
We already have the public option: pay as you go, at rates severely inflated by insurance companies. Too bad if you can't afford it.
...anything that would interrupt the already accomplished takeover of healthcare in this country by insurance racketeering bureaucrats. You know, the ones who already ration our health care and get between us and our doctors.
Just who the hell do we think we are, anyways?!? Nothing worse than a citizenry that gets uppity.
We'll all be able to SEE that it was all a bullshit scam "plan" from the beginning (that is if we're still alive in four years) which will cause us to gnash our TEETH.
Doh!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
Best show on TV. How do I get his radio show?
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation."
http://www.bigeddieradio.com/
A good # of affiliates carry him, but this will get u there on the web.
on Air America. You might have to get it on the internet.
We can get the Air America lineup on AM and FM stations in Chicago. Or XM Radio. I use all 3 depending. The show runs in the time slot that Al Franken used to have, 12 noon-3 pm Eastern.
WAR money is GOOD money. Saving lives is wasting money.
It seems the bottom line doesn't matter if it's WAR or TARP, but if it's for the people? Oh Heck NO! Can't have THAT kind of Debt! It's a TRILLION DOLLARS!!! Well folks, isn't the TARP over a Trillion? And the Gulf WAR Two over a Trillion? And the damage to our economy from NAFTA OVER A TRILLION?
How long are we going to allow these CAPITALIST PIGS TO PUMP AND DUMP US? They are going to do it again you know. Pump up the economy and dump more debt and poverty on us.
They think they are going to skate with impunity now that they have knocked the middle class off their hill. They forgot not to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. It's their asses that are going to go down.
A note on Ed Schultz. I think he is spot on with this issue. Ed is finally learning what it means to be a liberal. He is carrying the torch for our cause of health care and he's doing a damn good job of it. I thank you Ed, if you're reading this.
And all that from a Mike Malloy fan. Mike's my guy.
...always reminds me of the movie "The Rainmaker"
[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOT3XDLKXBs ](2:20)
It's simply greed, masked by Corporate law, that mandates a profit be made above all else. When the law directs your company to bring home the bacon for it's shareholders'... It's not difficult to see where that will lead.
Big Banks and Big insurance... "Birds of a feather". Look at Citigroup component Travelers Group.
"In July 2008, WellPoint subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross agreed to a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care. In order to resolve allegations of improper rescission (cancellation of policies due to claims), WellPoint paid $10 million and reinstated 1,770 policy-holders whose plans they had cancelled. They also agreed to provide compensation for any medical debts incurred by these policy-holders in the meantime. However, WellPoint did not officially admit liability. ;)" [Wellpoint, Inc.]
[ http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/wlp.html ]
Study the symptoms not the virus...
Wellpoint/Blue Cross was dumping patients onto the streets straight from the emergency room as soon as they were deemed to be poor. They dumped them onto skid row where the homeless shelters would find them. They sent them there by taxi.
Disgusting.
my oldest sister for whatever reason loves listening to her recovering NA friends, is adamant that this is the worst idea ever. They are now born again and republican pain in the ass'ss. Apparently These friends in their younger years lived in Europe and said the health care was horrible, basically if you were old you were sent to die.
I couldn't believe it, I spent time in England and the medical was great, I had no problems the one time the college called for a doctor for me. ( I had the flu ) There was no bill, no waiting and really I didn't even want them to call, I didn't feel that bad.
Republicans like my sis and her friends needs to stop with the fear factor and rekindle the brain cells.
"inevitable". The cost of providing health care to an aging population we force us to remove all non-value added process out of it which will leave us with the public option. Approximately 40% of the cost of health care has nothing to do with health care: Profits, CEO salaries and bonuses, insurer administration, billing departments, etc. Additional costs can be avoided by removing as much of the hospital and clinic administration as possible. With a public option we maybe able to use preventive care to further reduce cost. If we get cost down to the level of Canada and Great Britin we will be able to save "Trillions" of dollars yearly while living longer and better.
Next week he is taking the show live to Canada to see first hand, the "horror stories" being propagated by the loonies on the right.
Should be good.
"Bill Moyers and Amy Goodman have already interviewed Wendell Potter and I was wondering who the first person in the "main stream media" would be to bring him on."
What about Alan Colmes?
July 10th, 2009
• Former insurance executive Wendell Potter of the Center for Media and Democracy reveals how the health care industry fights reform by putting profits before patients.
• Does the government have the right to ban movies? Ted Baehr of the Christian Film & Television Commission explains why he’s seeking to halt screenings of the new movie Bruno.
• It’s the Friday Night Free-For-All!
http://www.alan.com/2009/07/10/on-fridays-rad...
→ http://www.cloudtenpictures.com/
Study the symptoms not the virus...
ABCNNBCBS are NOT main stream media ... the internet has talking over that position ... they are merely "corporate news" ... that what they should be called ... because that is what they are. There is a BIG difference "corporate news" and the real news on the internet.
"Corporate news" not msm.
I really did not know much about Ed until just recently. From what I have observed, he seems like a square shooter. He does not appear to be intimidated by his guest, regardless of who it is. He does not 'coddle them', but asks them the tough questions. I can really appreciate an advocate for the issues which most interest me.
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