Activists protest health care industry in DC
By: NAFEESA SYEED
Associated Press
03/09/10 5:35 PM EST
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"I'm fed up that I don't feel like I can trust any of my Congressmen," Says Chris Schofield of Rockester, NY who holds a "stop the bill" poster. Thousands rally on the West Lawn of the US Capitol building to protest the health care bill in Washington, DC on Thursday November 5, 2009. (Andrew Harnik/Examiner)
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WASHINGTON — Labor union members, religious leaders and other activists expressed outrage over what they call greedy insurance companies and urged Congress to pass health care reform during a protest Tuesday in the nation's capital.
Organizers with Health Care for America Now say thousands came in from across the country for the protest.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean addressed the crowd gathered at Dupont Circle, calling on Congress to take a final vote on the proposed health care overhaul.
"We deserve a vote," he said. "This is a vote about one thing — are you for the insurance companies or for the American people?"
Dean told the crowd that people are losing their insurance every day, including people denied coverage by insurance companies because they have preexisting conditions.
Protesters said they are fed up with rising premiums, denials of care and claims, and insurance companies' efforts to thwart reform. They said they want to hold the industry accountable for its actions.
Edna Hines, 62, of Hyattsville, Md., said as a baby boomer she's concerned about health coverage as her generation ages.
"I see that insurance companies are getting richer," she said. "We're going to need affordable health care."
Ann Gray, 68, of Silver Spring, Md., said she's worried about her daughter and her daughter's husband who don't have health coverage.
"The system is leaving too many people out," she said.
The protesters, some dressed in hospital gowns and bandages, marched to the Ritz Carlton hotel where America's Health Insurance Plans, an association of health insurance companies, was meeting. Some chanted "hey hey, ho ho, Medicare has got to go!" Others held signs that read, "Single-payer now" and "Stop fighting health reform." Some held signs saying "wanted" with the names of major health insurance companies.
The situation got tense briefly when protesters pressed against a police line blocking the entrance and asked to go inside to deliver a mock arrest warrant to health insurance industry executives.
Police escorted about 10 demonstrators away, including a man and woman who broke through the police line, but D.C. police Assistant Chief Patrick Burke says there were no arrests.
Burke says the protesters were "well behaved" and responsive to police.
