wellpoint
GRITtv: Essential Dissent: Syracuse Protests Wealthcare
Protesters in Syracuse, N.Y. protested for single-payer, "Medicare for All" outside of Wellpoint last week. They spoke out against the proposed mandate and subsidies for private insurance companies in the coming health care reform bill. The arrest of one protester and the picket line were captured on video exclusively for GRITtv by Wilton Vought of Essential Dissent, as well as commentary by an Iraq veteran, who points out that more people die from lack of health care each year than died on 9/11.
Email this pageGRITtv: Hannah Pingree: Maine Sued for Health Care Profits
Maine Speaker of the House Hannah Pingree comes from the same state as Olympia Snowe, but she is in favor of a strong public option. Her state is currently being sued by insurance giant Wellpoint for a guaranteed 3 percent profit margin in the midst of a recession that has hit Maine especially hard. Pingree notes that small states like Maine need strong federal regulations to back them up because huge companies like Wellpoint think they can push the state around and raise premiums without raising benefits.
GRITtv: October 14, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee pushed through a bill with bipartisan support -- if you call one senator from Maine bipartisan support. Meanwhile, the House and the rest of the Senate bills still contain a public option, so the question is: how far left can the Finance bill be pulled? On our roundtable, we have Paul Waldman from The American Prospect, Adam Thompson from the Progressive States Network, Representative Raul Grijalva, co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus, and Sharon Lerner, contributor to The Nation and author of "The War On Moms: Life in a Family-Unfriendly Nation."
