Personal Injury Law

Wendell Potter - Inside Man

By Pete Mackey

Though there has been press coverage of Wendell Potter's changing role, it has been curiously light. In June, he testified before Congress on the abuses of HMOs. Now he's back in the picture, weighing in on the health care debate:

The former vice president of corporate communications at insurance giant Cigna, who left his post, says the industry is playing "dirty tricks" in an effort to manipulate public opinion.

"Words matter, and the insurance industry is a master at linguistics and using the hot words, buzzwords, buzz expressions that they know will get people upset," he told CNN Wednesday.

His former employer CIGNA's response was telling:

A Cigna spokesman would not comment directly on Potter's accusations. Instead, the company released a written statement saying officials agree that health care reform is needed. But the statement went on to say that officials don't see how a government-sponsored plan can accomplish that.

When an industry insider slams the hand that fed him for a long time, you would think that his words would get a lot of play. And if he was an embittered outcast or a fraud, it would logically follow that the evidence of such would be trumpeted 24/7. Maybe he knows what he's talking about. Maybe there really is a problem in need of a solution ...

Full post as published by Mobile Personal Injury Lawyer on August 24, 2009 (boomark / email).