Wendell Potter

rdf:langString Wendell Potter

rdf:langString Wendell Potter

rdf:langString Wendell Potter

rdf:langString Banner Elk, North Carolina, United States

rdf:langString Potter in 2010

rdf:langString Health insurance communications director, health care reform advocate, best-selling author

rdf:langString Wendell Potter (born July 16, 1951) is an American advocate for health insurance payment reform, New York Times bestselling author, and former health insurance industry communications director. A critic of HMOs and the tactics used by health insurers, Potter is also a leading national advocate for major reforms of the health insurance industry, including Medicare for All and universal health care. Potter has been called the "Daniel Ellsberg of corporate America" by Michael Moore and "a straight shooter" by Bill Moyers. Potter is the first and only "health insurance insider" to have publicly criticized the industry's stance on the Obama health care reforms. A supporter of the Affordable Care Act, Potter correctly predicted in 2010 the final version of the law would increase health insurance industry profits and argued they would find a way to "game the system." He became a vocal advocate for Medicare for All in 2018, saying in September 2019 that "it's time to move to a program that makes a lot of sense economically as well as morally." Prior to his resignation in 2008, Potter was vice president of corporate communications for the health insurance company CIGNA. In June 2009, he testified against the HMO industry in the US Senate to expose the health insurance industry's practices. He has served as senior analyst at the Center for Public Integrity, a fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy, and a consumer liaison representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Potter is a regular guest on MSNBC and other national programming.