Former Insurance Executive Goes After Industry

By David S. Hilzenrath

A former public relations executive for two big health insurers is scheduled to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday to talk about the health care industry, and the advance word is that he has changed sides with a vengeance.

Wendell Potter, who spent more than 20 years working for CIGNA and Humana, “will testify about how big, for-profit insurers have hijacked our health care system and turned it into a giant ATM for Wall Street investors,” according to a news release by the Center for Media and Democracy.

Potter is identified as a senior fellow at the center, which says its mission is exposing corporate spin and government propaganda.

Potter “left the industry after witnessing practices he felt harmed American health care consumers,” the organization said. “To him there was a heart-breaking discrepancy between Americans struggling to find affordable, comprehensive coverage and wealthy insurance executives who based their premium charges—and coverage decisions, on profits rather than people’s health care needs.”

Potter’s aim, according to the news release, is to stop his former industry "from once again derailing meaningful reform."

Potter’s successor as spokesman for CIGNA, Chris Curran, said Potter “was intimately involved in our health care reform efforts.”

“We agree reform is needed in the industry, which is one of the reasons we have made health care reform our top priority,” Curran said.