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Street Roots • June 30-July 6, 2017 News Page 7 Protesters take insurance giant to task over GOP health care bill Disabled activist, allies, hold Regence BlueCross BlueShield accountable for donations to proponents of the plan BY EMILY GREEN S T A F F W R IT E R P H O T O S B Y E M IL Y G R E E N Allen Hines, seated, delivers a message along with a receipt fo r the millions o f people expected to lose insurance under the GOP health plan to Regence BlueCross BlueShield, which has donated to the campaigns o f many o f the p la n s authors. Below, a protester outside Regence notes the support by pharmaceutical companies to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a champion o f the GOP health care bill. group of about 20 disabled activists and their allies and service providers stormed Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon in downtown Portland to defeat Measure 97, a corporate tax that Monday to deliver a receipt for the millions of would have gone, in part, to fund health care. Americans that would lose coverage under “I work with a lot of people to receive the Republican health care bill. support in the home,” Hines said. “With the The receipt tallied campaign donations the state budget deficit and AHCA, we may be insurance company’s federation, Blue Cross facing a lot of cuts to services.” Blue Shield Association, made to Republican Tess Raunig also fears losing services. members of Congress charged with drafting Raunig appeared at the dem onstration in a the health care bill that would replace the wheelchair carrying a sign that said, “Choose Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.” people over profits.” According to the Congressional Budget Until about two years ago, Raunig spent Office, 22 million people will lose their health hours each day on personal care tasks. But care coverage over the next 10 years if the after going through a long and extensive bill passes. This includes 15 million people on qualification process, Raunig was able to get Medicaid, which covers disabled and elderly help with transportation to doctor Americans who have no other resources to appointments, cooking, cleaning and personal pay for health coverage. care. Allen Hines and Maig Bergio are the If Obamacare is replaced with the GOP organizers behind Monday’s demonstration heath care plan, Raunig fears in-home service and the activists leading the Coverage providers will be replaced with nursing home Defense Committee. living. The committee is a group of Portlanders “I’m too young to live in a nursing home,” who either receive Medicaid and Medicare Raunig said. “It’s proven it’s cheaper to have services or provide those services to the people living in their own homes with people who need them. community support.” Hines, a quadriplegic, said that if the GOP Once inside the lobby of the building that health care plan passes, he’d lose services houses Regence at 100 SW Market St., Hines he’s come to rely on. and Bergio asked the reception desk if Under Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, someone from the insurance company could many Oregonians with disabilities began to be called to come down and receive the receive in-home services from care providers receipt. that were previously inaccessible to them. After protesters waited for about 10 to 15 Many of these services greatly improve their minutes, a security guard informed them that quality of life while allowing them to remain they needed to wait outside of the building, but they refused to leave. in their homes. Protesters attempted to give the security If that expansion is rolled back under guard the receipt, but he refused to take it. congressional Republicans’ bill, many of the When activists said they would be happy to attendees at Monday’s protest fear those come back another day when someone from services will be taken away, forcing people Regence would be available to talk to them, with disabilities into institutional living the guard said he could take down a phone situations or worse - dying from lack of number and someone from Regence would health care. call them. But the activists said the needed to That was the message behind the receipt deliver the receipt. activists were delivering to Regence The security guard said he would have no BlueCross BlueShield and Cambia Health choice but to call the police. Solutions, of which Regence is a subsidiary. The group waited, but instead of police “Cambia was one of the top five spenders showing up to arrest a small group of disabled against Measure 97,” said Hyung Nam, a activists, three in wheelchairs, and their social studies teacher attending the allies, Regence’s media spokesperson, Jared demonstration. Ishkanian, came down to listen to the group. Cambia Health Solutions donated $550,000 A Ishkanian took the receipt, and after listening to a heartfelt plea from Hines, said he would share the group’s message with Regence. On th e receipt the activists presented, they included donations made to U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Oregon). Since 2014, Cambia and Regence has donated $12,500 to the congressman representing Eastern Oregon. Ishkanian clarified in an email to Street Roots that dollar amounts corresponding with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others listed on the receipt he was presented with do not represent what Cambia Health Solutions and Regence donated to the politicians. Blue Cross Blue Shield is largest payer group in the U.S., consisting of dozens of independent, locally-operated franchises. These companies have various political action committees across the country bearing the Blue Cross Blue Shield name. While Blue Cross Blue Shield has donated $72,500 to McConnell, he received just $2,500 in donations directly from Cambia Health Solutions, according to OpenSecrets. org. McConnell’s top industry donors include pharmaceuticals and health products ($387,701) and hospitals and nursing homes ($353,700), according to FollowTheMoney. org. He also, however, has more than $15 million in “uncoded” contributions, which are unknown or not yet assigned contributions. Ishkanian did not respond to a request for Cambia and Regence’s position on the GOP health care plan by press time. emily@streetroots. org
