On Saturday a vocal group of nearly 100 gathered at Pickering Square in Bangor to demand health insurance reform in America. The target of the demonstration was the harm done to the American people because insurance companies cruelly are organized with insistence for high financial return and callous disregard for health outcomes. Anthem was singled out for quite strident criticism. The quality of the speakers and the compelling stories told along those lines make this event very worthwhile. A link to my 24-minute video of the full program along with additional commentary is above right. This post has the audio-only podcast.
WLBZ/WCSH television provided statewide coverage, story HERE. The Bangor Daily News also has a story up on the web, HERE.
Locally the Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) and labor-oriented Food AND Medicine supported this event. The related national organizing effort is under the flag of Health Care for America Now, a broad coalition of labor, economic justice, and other social change groups that promotes “10 principles for reform that have been endorsed by President Obama and more than 190 members of Congress.”
This is the list of speakers in order of first appearance:
- Don Todd, activist from Etna, Maine
- Dr. Elizabeth Weiss, Bangor physician
- Leslie Mansfield, Bangor business owner
- Dr. Benjamin Schaefer, Bangor cardiologist
- Alice Knapp, Esq., Attorney in Richmond
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