Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Laura Woodhead - Talk Radio News

Health insurance companies are using disinformation to spread lies about health care reform to scare Americans, an industry whistleblower, former CIGNA Vice President Wendell Potter, said Wednesday during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol. Potter warned that Americans need to be alert about tactics the health insurance industry have used in the past to stop health care reform.

"Industry leaders are always full partners in developing strategies to derail any reform that may interfere with insurers ability to increase profits," Potter said.

Potter claimed that health Insurance firms have a history of "well financed PR campaigns every time Congress has tried to do what it is trying to do right now". "Its current behind the scenes efforts may well shape reform that will benefit wall street much more than it will benefit average Americans," said Potter.

While Potter acknowledged that not all outbursts at town halls were a result of insurance companies' PR campaigns, he said it was important to recognize the covert role that the industry plays in promoting the false information that fuels opponents.

"The playbook is the same and has been the same for many years," he said. "They are masters of linguistics. They know the hot button issues. They know buzzwords and expressions that get people excited."

"Americans should realize that when they hear isolated stories about long waiting times in Canada to see doctors or allegations that care in other systems is rationed by government bureaucrats, the insurance industry has written the script."

Potter claimed that these PR campaigns are payed for by increasingly costly consumer premiums of which only 85 cents of each dollar goes towards medical expenses.

"You can rest assured that's where all the money comes from," Potter said. "You can just imagine the amount of money that is being spent right now, millions and millions and millions of premium dollars are being spent to kill health care reform."

Potter was joined by House Rules Chair Louise M. Slaughter (D- N.Y.), who said that many of the claims being made about the House health care bills were ridiculous and did not deserve the time that was being awarded to refuting them.

"With all the access to information it is simply pointless that we all have to go around seriously and try to refute those things with a crowd of people who are yelling and screaming," said the Congresswoman.

"It is embarrassing to me as an American that people would even begin believe that their government would be putting people to death," Slaughter said. "Why in the world would Americans believe this?"