Thanks for putting up this thread, Dethspud. I hope a few will take the time to read the entire interview.

No one knows more or can tell the real story from the inside of a huge health insurance company like a former executive of Cigna who was on the inside at the top of that company for all those years and finally quit in disgust.

CT: You were a big shot for years for the health insurance industry. Why did you suddenly decide to switch sides, right in the middle of the battle for health care reform?

Potter: My decision to leave the industry and speak out were two different things. I chose to leave my job because I was growing increasingly disillusioned about the kinds of health care policies that the industry is moving toward. The industry calls them consumer-directed plans, which is a euphemism that would make one think they might have been designed by consumers for consumers. But they are not in the best interest of most Americans. They require high deductibles and require people to make more decisions on their own and pay more expenses out of their own pockets. There are other policies that are called limited-benefit plans that don't cover nearly enough. I refer to many of these plans as fake insurance or junk insurance because people are under the misapprehension that insurance is comprehensive. But the marketing materials companies use are misleading and obscure the fact that these policies are not what consumers think they are.

CT: How has the industry changed in the past 15 years or so since there was a similar debate over the Clinton plans for health care reform?

Potter: The for-profit insurers now dominate the industry. There has been significant consolidation since the last time we had this debate. There are now fewer insurance companies and a small number of very, very large companies, many of which didn't even exist. The seven largest of these companies have total revenues of $250 billion. One out of every three people who has coverage is enrolled with them. So they are very, very dominant. Today insurance premiums are much higher, people have few choices, and the costs of care are much higher. More people are uninsured. And a real problem that will soon get much worse is that a growing number of people are underinsured - enrolled in these high-deductible or limited insurance plans that don't really protect them.

CT: How might this changed marketplace affect the battle over health care reform?

Potter: What we really have now is a cartel of large insurance companies that control not only the market but the debate on health insurance. And most people don't even know it. These companies contribute millions and millions of dollars on lobbying efforts to persuade politicians to vote against reform and on public relations campaigns that are designed to mislead and deceive people. They are much richer and much more powerful than they were in '93 and '94 and even back then they were able to kill the Clinton plan.

CT: Is it possible to have a decent health care system driven by profits?

Potter: I don't think so. But it is the reality of what we will probably have to live with. By focusing on profits you have to take measures to reduce risk. You have to figure out ways to deny coverage or exclude some people from coverage.

CT: But this spring, health insurance executives promised to do away with pre-existing condition exclusions.

Potter: Empty rhetoric. That is the part of the PR campaign that they want you to see. The charm offensive. You'll see some executives on TV and read their quotes in newspapers. You'll hear them testify in Congress and promise (President) Obama they will work to help achieve reform. They want you to believe they're wearing white hats. But the other secret campaign is one they don't want you to see. They're working through these big PR firms that use conservative talk-shows hosts and editorial writers to be what they call third-party advocates. To be shills. To scare people by using terms like "government takeover" and "tax increases" and "socialism." It's fabrication and based on lies but that's fine with them as long as they achieve their end results.

CT: Which end results?

Potter: Cheating reform.

CT: I went to a conservative rally last week in Madison where many people used those exact same terms. So are you saying these people are stupid to believe this stuff?

Potter: People keep falling for it because there is almost no awareness of how special interests manipulate public opinion. I try to explain to people that the big, rich special interests are able to not only work through lobbyists to persuade lawmakers to do things their own way but have become almost invisible persuaders. And people unwillingly and unknowingly have become pawns and advocates and spokespeople for the industry. And they don't even know it. Because often they are getting their information not from the mainstream media but from people they think are credible and trustworthy sources. From an editorial writer or conservative talk-show host. I know that, for example, back in the Clinton campaign they were able to get information to people like Rush Limbaugh. They worked through big conservative think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, all allies of the industry. So they funnel talking points and get information to these pundits. The editorial page director of the Wall Street Journal is on their speed dial right now. I bet if you were to ask many of these people where did they get their information they would tell you places like Fox News.

And this not from some bleeding heart liberal but a former 20 year executive of Cigna. He wasn't fired. Not a disgruntled former employee. A man who finally quit in disgust.