Former insurance company CEO on the road to Damascus

[eridani]

http://www.prwatch.org/node/8422

I thought I could live with being a well-paid huckster and hang in there a few more years until I could retire. I probably would have if I hadn't made a completely spur-of-the-moment decision a couple of years ago that changed the direction of my life. While visiting my folks in northeast Tennessee where I grew up, I read in the local paper about a health "expedition" being held that weekend a few miles up U.S. 23 in Wise, Va. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals were volunteering their time to provide free medical care to people who lived in the area. What intrigued me most was that Remote Area Medical, a non-profit group whose original mission was to provide free care to people in remote villages in South America, was organizing the expedition. I decided to check it out.

That 50-mile stretch of U.S. 23, which twists through the mountains where thousands of men have made their living working in the coalmines, turned out to be my "road to Damascus."

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I reached the Wise County Fairgrounds, where the expedition was being held. Hundreds of people had camped out all night in the parking lot to be assured of seeing a doctor or dentist when the gates opened. By the time I got there, long lines of people stretched from every animal stall and tent where the volunteers were treating patients.

That scene was so visually and emotionally stunning it was all I could do to hold back tears. How could it be that citizens of the richest nation in the world were being treated this way?

A couple of weeks later I was boarding a corporate jet to fly from Philadelphia to a meeting in Connecticut. When the flight attendant served my lunch on gold-rimmed china and gave me a gold-plated knife and fork to eat it with, I realized for the first time that someone's insurance premiums were paying for me to travel in such luxury. I also realized that one of the reasons those people in Wise County had to wait in long lines to be treated in animal stalls was because our Wall Street-driven health care system has created one of the most inequitable health care systems on the planet.

[WCGreen]

1. Readin', Ritin' route 23

[sasquatch]

24. Where I grew up the appalachians said route 25

[slipslidingaway]

2. knr nt

[tblue37]

3. K&R

[zeemike]

4. He got a glimpse of the real world from his Ivory tower.

And obviously he is not suited to be a insurance CEO because of empathy.

[progressoid]

11. If only we could get more people in his positon to see what he's seen.

Hey - I guy can dream right?

[checks-n-balances]

5. THANK YOU for posting this - I heard about it on Hartmann's show

on Friday. Bernie Sanders was telling this story too. He emphasized how these companies make their money by denying coverage to the people who need it most, and that it wasn't just premiums that were paying for that luxury trip, it was the money they'd saved by denying coverage that was also paying for it.

Is this person going to do any speaking publicly about this very thing, maybe to Congress sometime soon?

Thanks again for posting this. I'm glad to read his account.

[eridani]

6. He testified last week

Just search on his name.

[checks-n-balances]

8. Thanks for the info n/t

[Hekate]

7. KnR

:kick:

[csziggy]

9. K&R

[dem mba]

10. I believe this was on 60 Minutes last year

good to see this guy is seeing the light.

[crickets]

12. K&R

[geckosfeet]

13. Remember Rt. 23.

[sasquatch]

14. The only problem about this is Paul in the bible sucks and is a shit human being

[liberaltrucker]

15. It's called a "metaphor"

Nice to see you, anyhoozle.

:hi:

[sasquatch]

17. Just be careful when you're using metaphors though

Same as well, how's PA treating you.
:hi:

[liberaltrucker]

18. So far, so good

:)

[Waiting For Everyman]

19. You know Paul?

Wow, you must be well-preserved!

[sasquatch]

22. I know him from his writings, many Xtians give him too much leverage in their lives

[rosesaylavee]

23. Just what I was thinking

:rofl:

[John K]

25. To be more accurate - Paul WAS a shit human being until

HE SAW THE LIGHT ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS. I think that is the point that this person was trying to make.

[sasquatch]

27. He was still a shit human being after he saw the light

[Brigid]

16. He needs to write a book.

Or make a documentary. Even Michael Moore's "Sicko" wouldn't be able to match it.

[Joe Chi Minh]

20. Very sad and moving. But a good eventual outcome. A story which needs to be

heard now more than ever, from a man who now walks the walk, after a life of empty spiel.

[Uncle Joe]

21. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, eridani.

[malaise]

26. K & R

Wow!

[AllyCat]

28. Wish more like him would speak out. I hope it is worth all this misery

for him to wait until now to speak than for him to have done it before.

[Liberal_in_LA]

29. Links to videos of these health events are on youtube. very moving