Meet Wendell Potter: Health Insurance Whistle Blower

Wendell Potter is the former head of corporate communications for CIGNA. Since leaving in 2008 he has become the most prominent whistleblower of the private health insurance industry, speaking out against its deadly, profit-driven practices. He has testified repeatedly before Congress and has appeared in high-profile interviews on Bill Moyers Journal, Democracy NOW!, and many others. He is the senior fellow on health care at the Center for Media and Democracy publishers of "PR Watch"

He is on a tour promoting his book Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans, for which The Nation cited him as 2010's most valuable author.

I am proud that the New York City metro area chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program is hosting his New York City stop on the tour, at a free reception and presentation (as well as book signing) on Monday January 10, 2011 starting at 6:00 PM, at the Murphy Institute, City University of New York, 25 West. 43rd Street, Manhattan, 18th floor.

For those who are interested in how the heatlh reform we got went down and where we go from here, I (and Bill Moyers) strongly recommend Dr. John Geyman's book Hijacked: The Road to Single Payer in the Aftermath of Stolen Health Care Reform.

For those interested in following this issue daily, and for free, I strongly recommend Dr. Don McCanne's daily health policy update, also available as an email listserv and RSS feed.

The full list of stops on Wendell Potter's book tour are:

ATLANTA, GA
Tuesday, January 4, 2011 @ 7:15 P.M.
Georgia Center for the Book, Decatur Public Library, 215 Sycamore St, Decatur

MIAMI, FL
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 @ 8:00 P.M.
Books & Books, 296 Aragon Avenue

AUSTIN, TX
Friday, January 7, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
BookPeople, 603 North Lamar Boulevard

NEW YORK CITY
Monday, January 10, 2011 6:00pm Reception & Signing; 7:30pm Presentation
City University of New York, Murphy Center, 25 West 43rd Street
Sponsored by Physicians for a National Health Program — New York Metro Chapter

RALEIGH, NC
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
Quail Ridge Books, Ridgewood Shopping Center, 3522 Wade Avenue
Co-sponsored by North Carolina Policy Watch

NASHVILLE, TN
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble, 1701 Mallory Lane

MEMPHIS, TN
Thursday, January 13, 2011 @ 6:00 P.M.
Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Laurelwood Center, 387 Perkins Road Extended

BLOOMINGTON, IN
Sunday, January 16, 2011 @ 3:00 PM
Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 East Kirkwood Avenue
Includes a screening of Michael Moore’s SiCKO
Sponsored by Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan, Howard’s Book Store, and The Ryder

MADISON, WI
Monday, January 17, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
Goodman Community Center 149 Waubesa Street
Sponsored by the Center for Media and Democracy

CHICAGO, IL
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 @ 11:45 AM.
The Standard Club, 320 South Plymouth Court

MINNEAPOLIS, MN
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 @ 4:00 PM
University of Minnesota Bookstore, Twin Cities Campus
554 Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Avenue, Northeast

DENVER, CO
Thursday, January 20, 2011
12:00PM @ Univ of Colorado, Denver LEADS Program, Anschutz Medical Campus
&
7:30PM @ Tattered Cover Book Store, 2526 East Colfax Avenue

SALT LAKE CITY, UT
Friday, January 21, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
The King’s English, 115 South 1500 East

BALTIMORE, MD
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 @ 6:30 PM
The Ivy Bookshop, 6080 Falls Road

P.S.: I am a single payer supporter and board member of PNHP-NY Metro but have no affiliation or financial connection with Wendell Potter, Don McCanne or John Geyman.