The preceding video and the following press release are both from the Virginia Organizing Project. This is how private health insurance company Anthem treats its paying customers, apparently. And this is what Republicans in Congress (plus a few misguided "Democrats") are defending. You might want to keep this in mind as you watch the rest of the health care reform debate unfold in coming weeks...
As the Senate votes to begin debate on health care reform legislation this week, another health care debate will heat up in Richmond when Joe Szakos defends against trespassing charges brought on by his own health insurance company. On Monday, November 23, 2009 at 1:00pm, Joe Szakos, executive director of the Virginia Organizing Project will stand trial to defend against trespassing charges brought on by Anthem after visiting their headquarters in July to question his organization’s health insurance premium increases.
Virginia Organizing Project executive director Joe Szakos originally showed up to defend against trespassing charges in Henrico General District Court on September 22, 2009. However the complaining witness, an employee of Anthem, was unable to attend the trial. The case was continued to Monday, November 23, 2009. The Commonwealth’s prosecution asked for a continuance because their key witness was out of town despite having been served the subpoena seven weeks prior on August 5, 2009. Szakos’s defense opposed the motion to continue the trial to a later date but was overruled.
Szakos was charged with trespassing on Anthem’s property in July when he and three Virginia Organizing Project board members attempted to meet with Anthem officials to discuss their concerns about a recent insurance premium increase and the use of money paid as premiums going to anti-health care reform lobbying. The Virginia Organizing Project pays $25,000 per month in premiums to Anthem for its employees. Anthem and its parent company WellPoint have spent millions lobbying against a public health insurance option, including soliciting their own customers to speak out against reform.
