MEDIA ADVISORY: Sit-in at Anthem Blue Cross, October 15, 10am

Contact: Lacy MacAuley, (202) 445-4692, lacy@massey-media.com

Los Angeles Contact: Dev Das, (248) 943-4828, devdas.usa@gmail.com

Action Coordinator: Kai Newkirk (310) 703-3046, kainewkirk@yahoo.com



Citizens sit-in, risk arrest at Blue Cross

insurance office in Los Angeles



Sit-in is part of a national mobilization to end

insurance abuse and win health care for all



What: Sit-in at Blue Cross office to launch national campaign of nonviolent

civil disobedience to end insurance abuse and win health care for all

When: 10am, October 15, 2009

Where: 801 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Who: Citizens and health care providers who are fed up with insurance

company greed are calling for real reform, Health Care for All.



[Los Angeles] – Citizens and health care providers who are fed up with the state

of our health care system will risk arrest at the Anthem Blue Cross office at 8th &

Figueroa at 10am on October 15. The sit-in is part of a national mobilization to

end insurance abuse and build support for real reform – Health Care for All. The

mobilization involves civil disobedience at insurance company offices in New

York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and other cities. Over 700 people

have already signed up to risk arrest at a health insurance company office as one

of the largest campaigns of nonviolent civil disobedience since the civil rights

movement.



Participants in the sit-in are expected to peacefully assemble and enter the office.

If they are not allowed entry to the office, they will sit outside the door.

Participants in the action will demand immediate approval of all doctor-requested

treatment for people with life-threatening conditions. They will not leave until their

demands are met, or they are removed by law enforcement.



“Blue Cross denied my mother a bone marrow transplant when it was the only

option recommended by doctors for her to live,” said Sam Pullen, a resident of

Echo Park who is participating in the civil disobedience. “Hundreds of people die

each day because insurance companies deny them lifesaving care that they

need. I’m willing to put myself on the line for them. We need Health Care for All.”



Americans are finally standing up to these insurance companies as part of a

growing movement across the country. The sit-in is part of the Patients Not Profit

campaign of the Mobilization for Health Care for All, which can be followed at

www.mobilizeforhealthcare.org. The upcoming Los Angeles action has been

organized by the Center for the Working Poor.



“At this critical juncture in the national health care debate, we are highlighting

deaths and suffering caused by insurance company denials. In some states 20%

of all doctor-approved health care recommendations are denied by insurance

companies. People are dying because these corporations put profits before

patients,” said Katie Robbins of Healthcare-NOW! Participants in today’s act of

civil disobedience think that the health care bill fails to address the real cause of

our health care crisis, the insurance companies. They are emphasizing that

health insurance companies that deny people the care they need are the real

death panels.



“When I needed treatment for my ulcer, Blue Cross denied my claim after I had

my treatment. It is downright wrong that insurance companies decide who lives

or dies based on what treatment is most ‘profitable,” said Sheila Dvorak, age 27,

a resident of Los Angeles who is participating in the civil disobedience. “We need

a health care system that places patients before profit.”





# # #

For more information:

Mobilization for Health Care www.MobilizeForHealthCare.org

Healthcare-NOW!, www.healthcare-now.org

Prosperity Agenda, www.ProsperityAgenda,US

Center for Working Poor, http://centerfortheworkingpoor.org

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