Manhattan, NY – Wall Street Protesters Target Health Insurers

    15

    Occupy Wall Street protesters continue to increase their makeshift shelter at Zuccotti Park, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 in New York.   APManhattan, NY – Occupy Wall Street protesters held a speak-out and march in New York City targeting the health insurance industry.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    Several hundred protesters marched to the offices at Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, located near the movement’s encampment in Zuccotti Park where they demanded health care for all. They also targeted other health insurance companies.

    The march ended at the now-closed St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village, where they called for the hospital’s reopening.

    The Catholic-affiliated hospital filed for bankruptcy before closing in April, citing a $1 billion debt. It was sold to a developer who plans to turn it into a walk-in emergency facility and hundreds of luxury apartments.


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    15 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    12 years ago

    There was once a science fiction story about marching morons. Here they are.

    LiberalismIsADisease
    LiberalismIsADisease
    12 years ago

    Useful idiots!

    yeedle
    yeedle
    12 years ago

    I am organizing a march to kosher delight demanding free Chinese food for everyone

    thechef88
    thechef88
    12 years ago

    to comments #1 thru #3 -the health coverage problem is nothing to joke about. many of us can no longer afford coverage. insurers keep combining, claiming it will lower premiums. but all that happens is tnd premiums rise. hat profits increase and premiums rise. perhaps the three of you get free coverage, but think of those that have to pay.

    Butterfly
    Butterfly
    12 years ago

    They re not entirely wrong!!

    Geulah
    Geulah
    12 years ago

    Health care coverage would change when we move from disease management to preventative care as a philosophy in medicine. Disease managment is much more lucrative and less litigious than preventative care.

    villyamsburger
    villyamsburger
    12 years ago

    #4 #5 insurers are not here for ur benefit they are here for business and be rich as they are allowed to by our constitution. The problem is that medical is expensive because these frivolous lawsuits don’t stop oh and also because doctors wanna be rich as they are allowed to do. Now except if u are a b
    communist u should understand that or let’s go to kosher delight and demand lower rates for chucken and broccoli! (As Pupa commented)

    SherryTheNoahide
    SherryTheNoahide
    12 years ago

    To posters 1-3, perhaps you’ve never almost lost your home due to medical debts the way that my husband & myself have gone through! We have a handicapped child & other medical issues we’re dealing with…. and those bills almost cost us our entire livliehood, and that’s WITH insurance!

    So how can people withOUT insurance manage to keep up?!?!

    I never thought in my LIFE I would see so many “religious” people side with greedy banksters & health insurers, who are running a “FOR-PROFIT” health care industry which isn’t helping ANYONE but themselves!

    And I’m not just griping at the people on here either! When my husband & I left Christianity 2 years ago, many people over there had the SAME mindset!

    “It’s YOUR fault if you get sick & can’t pay your medical bills. Why is that MY problem?!”

    Nice. Really nice! *eyeroll*

    I used to tell my husband, maybe people should just STOP going to church all together- because they are wasting their time w\attitudes like that!

    12 years ago

    Things are SOOOO out of control. My husband and I work more than full time hours (with post-graduate degrees professions) and can’t seem to live past the paycheck to paycheck exsistance! We have nothing in savings. I have no idea how our kids will get married. Any family with just one child with “special needs” is beyond strained. How is it that my peers and I growing up managed to have (70% of us or so) one working parent, buy a home and live comfortably? Other than the expense of sending your son or daughter to Israel for the year, I don’t recall tuition and health insurance being talked about as such a crisis. How can we go on like this? You can be educated, ambitious, efficient, diligent and never get ahead!!!!

    ModernLakewoodGuy
    ModernLakewoodGuy
    12 years ago

    Demanding healthcare for all? They don’t even have jobs and yet they want the gov’t and the health insurers to just give them a service for free?

    People love to vilify Health Insurers but they provide an incredible service. Yes, premiums are high, but did you know that Health Insurers have one of the lowest profit margins of any major industry? An average of around 2.5%… that means of all the money they make, 2.5% is left over as profit. 97.5% is spent on paying your medical bills, paying employees etc. Compare that to Exxon Mobile with a profit margin of 9%, Microsoft with a profit margin of 46% and you can see, health insurers are a poor choice of villain.

    The main reason why premiums are so high is the declining health of the American population along with the cost of healthcare. It used to be you saw your doctor once a year for a checkup and the insurance company paid him $50, you pay a $5 copay and you were done. Now, every suspicious sound, spot, pain, kvetch, is sent for a $4,000 pet scan, $2000 worth of blood tests, etc, etc. The insurance company pays for that treatment!

    12 years ago

    Check on how much is mal practice insurance because of claims . Many gyn gave up the practice because mal practice insurance went from $30,000 to $150,000 or more. If you are a patient with health care insurance; your insurance pays high and higher rates for you to be seen