Insurance Industry Is Listening

From Jason Rosenbaum today at The Seminal, reporting on the attempt to have a voice in those "public" hearings the Insurance Industry is holding, yesterday at a place I'm going to be visiting this weekend, Albuquerque, NM.

While I’m still waiting for video and news reports from the insurance industry’s “listening tour” stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday, here’s the report we got back from our people on the ground:

Karen Ignagni’s [the CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, the insurance industry's front group] moderator blew his cool with a group of ACORN people [who were protesting in support of Health Care for America Now], pointing at them angrily and calling them aside.

With the rest of the audience silent and watching, he spat, “What do you expect us to do?! They [the insurance industry] HAVE to make a profit!!” He went on, and then - with the whole auditorium’s wide eyes on her - an ACORN member burst back in response, “These are the corporations that killed reform efforts back in ‘93. Are you honestly telling me that they’re working for the people now? That they honestly want reform?!”

The moderator guy was so startled by her forcefulness that he physically back-peddled and stumbled over someone else.

So, they know we’re here.

Damn right they know we’re here. Americans want real health care reform. We can see through the insurance industry’s blurring strategy. We know that no matter what language the insurance industry uses, they are fundamentally against health care reform. They are working against the American people, and everyone knows it.

We’re here. We’re not going away. We’re going to win real health care reform in 2009.

Oh, and no word yet on the dates, times, and locations of the next stop on this sham listening tour in Providence, RI. As soon as we know, you’ll know, and we’ll all make sure they know we’re there.

Until the public interest has representation, the insurance industry seems to be assuming, as the whole right wing is, that they are in charge and there is no dissent allowed.