September 4, 2009 Volume 110 Number 17

Hundreds rally in Portland to support health insurance reform

Terry Shrunk Plaza in downtown Portland filled to the brim Aug. 29 for a rally in support of health insurance reform. The rally was organized by the union-backed campaign organization Health Care for America Now and by Organizing for America, President Obama’s support organization.

The crowd was estimated at nearly 800.

Aside from the chance to show that health reform has wide support, the rally’s main attraction was Wendell Potter, a former public relations executive at CIGNA and Humana insurance companies who has come over to the side of health insurance reform and testified before it the U.S. Congress about insurance industry abuses.

“Every time you hear about the shortcomings of what they call government-run health care, remember this,” Potter told rally-goers. “What we have now in this country, and what the insurers are determined to keep in place, is Wall Street-run health care.”

“And remember this too,” Potter said. “We already have one of the most insidious means of rationing health care in the world — not by people we can hold accountable on Election Day, but by insurance company executives who answer only to a few wealthy investors and hedge fund managers who care far more about earnings per share than your health and well-being.”

The rally, led by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, closed with a fiery speech from Oregon’s most prominent labor leader.

“Understand this,” said Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain, “we’ve got the insurance industry quaking in their boots. Their backs are up, their claws are out, and their wallets are open. They’re spending tens of millions of dollars to drive a stake once again through the heart of health reform. They bought themselves an army of lobbyists, TV commercials, print media, all to deceive the American public. But not this time!”


Home | About

© Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc.