Wendell Potter (born July 16, 1951) is an American advocate for health insurance payment reform, ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' bestselling author, and former health insurance industry communications director. A critic of
HMO
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...
s and the tactics used by health insurers, Potter is also a leading national advocate for major reforms of the health insurance industry, including
Medicare for All
Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer").
Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...
and
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
.
Potter has been called the "
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the ''Pent ...
of corporate America" by
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
and "a straight shooter" by
Bill Moyers. Potter is the first and only "health insurance insider" to have publicly criticized the industry's stance on the Obama health care reforms. A supporter of the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
, Potter correctly predicted in 2010 the final version of the law would increase health insurance industry profits and argued they would find a way to "game the system." He became a vocal advocate for Medicare for All in 2018, saying in September 2019 that "it's time to move to a program that makes a lot of sense economically as well as morally."
Prior to his resignation in 2008, Potter was vice president of corporate communications for the health insurance company
CIGNA
Cigna is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and se ...
.
In June 2009, he testified against the HMO industry in the
US Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
to expose the
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
industry's practices.
He has served as senior analyst at the
Center for Public Integrity, a fellow at the
Center for Media and Democracy, and a consumer liaison representative to the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territo ...
. Potter is a regular guest on
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
and other national programming.
Early life
He was born on July 16, 1951, to Blaine and Pearl Potter. Raised in
Mountain City, Tennessee
Mountain City is a town in and the county seat of Johnson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,383 at the 2000 census and 2,531 at the 2010 census. It is the northeasternmost county seat in Tennessee. In addition, at an elevatio ...
, Potter was born in
Banner Elk, North Carolina. Potter was the first in his family to complete college, graduating from the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
, where he edited the student newspaper ''Daily Beacon'' in 1973 and was named a Torchbearer.
Career
Potter was employed by
Humana in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
before he moved to
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
to work for
CIGNA
Cigna is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and se ...
in 1993. He began his journey towards resigning and becoming a consumer advocate in July 2007 when he saw a
free clinic
A free clinic or walk in clinic is a health care facility in the United States offering services to economically disadvantaged individuals for free or at a nominal cost. The need for such a clinic arises in societies where there is no universal ...
run by
Remote Area Medical
Remote Area Medical (RAM) is a non-profit provider of mobile medical clinics delivering free dental, vision, and medical care (as well as veterinary services when available) to under-served and uninsured individuals.
Founded by British philanthro ...
in rural
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
:
What he saw appalled him. Hundreds of desperate people, most without any medical insurance, descended on the clinic from out of the hills. People queued in long lines to have the most basic medical procedures carried out free of charge. Some had driven more than 200 miles from Georgia. Many were treated in the open air or in the county fair livestock barns. Potter took pictures of patients lying on trolleys on rain-soaked pavements.
Potter retired from CIGNA in 2008 shortly after the
death of Nataline Sarkisyan
Nataline Mary Sarkisyan (July 10, 1990 – December 20, 2007) was an American teenager with recurrent leukemia. Her case became part of the health care reform debate in the United States in 2007 when Cigna HealthCare denied coverage for a liver ...
and became an active voice on healthcare reform in 2009.
On September 15, 2009, Potter appeared before the
US House of Representatives Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. He said in his opening statement that if Congress "fails to create a public insurance option to compete with private insurers, the bill it sends to the president might as well be called the Insurance Industry Profit Protection and Enhancement Act."
Potter's November 2010 book ''Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans'' details many of the industry's deceitful tactics, puts them in historical context by drawing parallels to the tobacco industry and the history of
psychological manipulation
Manipulation in psychology is a behavior designed to exploit, control, or otherwise influence others to one’s advantage. Definitions for the term vary in which behavior is specifically included, influenced by both culture and whether referring t ...
in public relations, gives a history of healthcare reform, and shares his own personal journey.
In 2013, Potter published an e-book, ''Obamacare: What's In It For Me? What Everyone Needs to Know About the Affordable Care Act''. It provides an overview of the consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act and illustrates how the law affects everyday Americans through stories of Potter's family members and friends.
In 2016, Potter published ''Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy And What We Can Do About It'', with co-author
Nick Penniman
Nick Penniman is an American nonprofit executive and journalist who serves as the co-founder and CEO of Issue One, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen American democracy and government ethics.
Career
Previously, Penniman was ...
. It argues that the corrupting influence of big money on US democracy has reached a state of emergency. It also details the history of moneyed influences on the
US government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
and makes the case that the situation has become much worse in recent years, to pervade virtually every aspect of American life. The book also offers solutions that citizens can take to repair the damage and to make US democracy more responsive to the needs of its people.
In 2017, Potter founded his eponymous nonprofit journalism company, to investigate how powerful people and companies use their influence to shape public opinion and public policy.
In December 2018, Potter was named president of Business Initiative for Health Policy, a business group that supports
universal healthcare. In July 2019, Business Initiative for Health Policy was rebranded to Business for Medicare for All to advocate for the business case for
Medicare for All
Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer").
Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...
.
See also
*
Essential health benefits
Books
* ''Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans'' (November 16, 2010;
Bloomsbury Press; )
* ''Obamacare: What's In It For Me? What Everyone Needs to Know About the Affordable Care Act'' (e-book), (December 6, 2013;
Bloomsbury Press;
* ''Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy And What We Can Do About It'' (Co-author:
Nick Penniman
Nick Penniman is an American nonprofit executive and journalist who serves as the co-founder and CEO of Issue One, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen American democracy and government ethics.
Career
Previously, Penniman was ...
), (March 1, 2016;
Bloomsbury Press; )
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Wendell
American public relations people
American whistleblowers
American media critics
American non-fiction writers
University of Tennessee alumni
People from Avery County, North Carolina
People from Mountain City, Tennessee
1951 births
Living people
American business executives
Corporate executives