If AHIP thinks they've been getting an incredible amount of heat lately for their stunning rate increases, they haven't seen anything yet.
Today, we're taking a stand together to show AHIP we're not going to allow the big corporations and their lobbyists to bully Congress into inaction. We kicked off today's rally this morning at around 10:30 a.m. Health care activists spilled off of buses that traveled from DE, CT, MD, MN, VA, NJ, NC, NY, OH, PA, RI to be here today.
They joined union members, health care supporters, politicians, progressive leaders and faith leaders, until there were several thousand of us packed into the Circle by the fountain. HCAN's Richard Kirsch, SEIU's Anna Burger, and Howard Dean all spoke briefly, energizing the crowd and reminding us all why we're all out here: to hold the abusive health insurance industry accountable for its actions.
Two of the saddest signs I saw rally-goers holding were both from women in their 20s. The signs read:
"Rape was my pre-existing condition"
and
"Another kid who lost her dad because he wasn't insured"
The march to confront the insurance industry at AHIP's annual conference was quite a sight to see--the energy of the crowd was amazing; people were chanting reform jingles, and we shut down a number of streets between DuPont and Georgetown on our way to confront the insurance industry at the Ritz-Carlton.
Street theater, from the 'billionaires for wealthcare:'
Check out some more photos of the march, as it makes its way from DuPont to the Ritz-Carlton.
Thousands tell Big Insurance: "Blocking Health Care Reform Is a Crime."
The crowd arrives outside the Ritz:
* More photos of activists taking to the streets of DC and declaring AHIP's National Policy Forum conference a "crime scene" on our Flickr set here.
