CMD's Wendell Potter Interviewed by Amy Goodman

by John Stauber — July 16, 2009 - 9:58am
  • Topics: Health, Lobbying
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    Wendell Potter is the former CIGNA health insurance executive who is now Senior Fellow on Health Care with the Center for Media and Democracy. He is blowing the whistle on his former industry's lobby and PR tactics and was interviewed July 16, 2009 for forty-five minutes by Amy Goodman of the radio and TV program Democracy Now! The entire interview can be viewed online. Here is a snippet:

    AMY GOODMAN: What is the game plan of the health insurance industry?

    WENDELL POTTER: Well, the game plan is based on scare tactics. And, of course, the thing they fear most is that the country will at some point gravitate toward a single-payer plan. That's the ultimate fear that they have. But they know that right now that is not something that's on the legislative table. And they've been very successful in making sure that it isn't. They fear even the public insurance option that's being proposed, that was part of President Obama's campaign platform, his healthcare platform. And they'll pull out all the stops they can to defeat that. And they'll be working with their ideological allies, with the business community, with conservative pundits and editorial writers, to try to scare people into thinking that embracing a public health insurance option would lead us down the slippery slope toward socialism and that you will be, in essence, putting a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor. That is—you know, they've used those talking points for years, and in years past they've always worked.

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    Another 'I'm-for-reform-but.'

    Submitted by Mutternich on July 21, 2009 - 11:45am.

    Like there are no long waits here? Come on.

    Canadian Health Care Delivery statistics

    Submitted by Thomas Molitor (not verified) on July 21, 2009 - 10:14am.

    Larry C,

    Could you cite your sources regarding Canadian statistics you mention, thanks.

    Health Care Reform

    Submitted by Larry C (not verified) on July 21, 2009 - 5:20pm.

    The source for my statistics were The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), a government-funded body, as reported by Dr. David Gratzer before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means.

    Congratulations for being so brave

    Submitted by Geoff Brown (not verified) on July 17, 2009 - 1:20pm.

    Wendell,
    I heard your PBS and Democracy Now interviews. I just want to express my admiration for you taking such a brave, principled stand against the corrupt and unjust American health care industry. I hope more of your former industry colleagues do the right thing and come forward, as you did, to speak truth to power. Congratuations!

    Wendell Potter interview on Democracy Now!

    Submitted by sluzen (not verified) on July 16, 2009 - 3:51pm.

    Namaste,

    I am a progressive and have been most of my life. However, I have sort of turned spiritual in the last few years or so, so please forgive me if I step on some toes with this spiritual interpretation of Wendell Potter. And if you can't allow me this, well than all I can say is 'get over it' can 'chill out'. And yes, Virginia, there are Controllers who have been controlling us, without our knowledge, for a long, long, time.

    From my lifelong experience I think that probably higher forces have been working throughout Potter's life to bring him to where he is now, and this is probably a result of his prebirth agreement to do what he is doing. That is he is probably part of a Grand Master Plan that will eventually heal the Earth and all of us. Thank you, Mr. Potter.

    That being said, I have listened to Mr. Potter being interviewed by Bill Moyers, parts of his Congressional testimony, and now Democracy Now! The DN! interview is I feel his best interview yet. In a shout amount of time, he was able to touch on every necessary point in the most eloquent way.

    When I first heard that Obama was supporting the forced insurance medical plan, I went ballistic and called all my representatives in Congress within the first few minutes of this. I know better than to go ballistic, anger is insanity, and takes you away from love. When I was able to calm down, I trusted that (most of the time) everything would turn out for the good eventually. Then Source Creator sent us Mr. Potter, with Mr. Potter's permission, of course, and we are now on a different course.

    Thank you again, Mr. Potter. I send you so much love you can not imagine.

    Love and light,

    Wake up and smell the roses.

    Submitted by Reality (not verified) on July 17, 2009 - 4:33pm.

    Wake up and smell the roses. The government can't run anything efficiently.

    Agree

    Submitted by Sim (not verified) on November 25, 2010 - 10:18pm.

    I'd change the word roses to sh*t but that would be bit crude of me. Not as crude as the government.

    Medicare

    Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on August 15, 2009 - 3:38pm.

    Medicare is a government program that is efficient. The Vets seem to do well also.

    Perhaps we should STOP listening to the big business myths - so they can go ahead and make $$$$$$$$$$ off of us and then be so big they have to be bailed out with our TAX money when the economy fails. Perhaps this is one reason it failed: GREED

    NOW is the time - YES! Our government is going after the fat cats with off shore $$$$$$$$$$$$ and they too will pay taxes.

    gov't can't do anythang right

    Submitted by JohnnyE (not verified) on August 5, 2009 - 12:25pm.

    Gov't got to the moon in 9 years. But then they made NASA privatize most of its operations and we haven't done that much in manned-flight since except hang out in low-earth orbit.

    They invented the Internet then gave it away to big business who is soaking us with fees and trying to control content.

    Gov't provided electricity to all the rural areas of the country while in the Depression. Women on farms would still be washing their clothes with washboards otherwise.

    Gov't did all the basic research during WWII and built the first modern digital computers.

    Gov't won WWII.

    Gov't built the Interstate Hwy. System.

    Gov't educated the Greatest Generation via the G.I. Bill which made us the strongest economy in the world.

    Gov't gave us the Land Grant Colleges so the middle class had access to a higher eduaction.

    Gov't won the Cold War.

    Gov't saved our landmarks with the National Park System.

    Gov't got us out of the Depression when the free-market screwed up.

    Of course the private sector never screws up. Look at the auto industry, Enron, savings & loan industry, Wall Street, all the companies that make Superfund sites, ...

    Thanks

    Submitted by Paeon (not verified) on August 5, 2009 - 9:54pm.

    If the Republicans can repeat the Big Lie, why can't we get just as vocal about the Big Truth? Don't want "socialized" health care? Then vow to give up "socialized" fire fighting, "socialized" police forces, "socialized" military, "socialized" national park system, "socialized" Tennessee Valley Authority, "socialized" Medicare....