Day: May 23, 2011

Penn ACTION dropped by Aetna’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia to ask why the company says it is supporting the Affordable Care Act while it funnels millions of dollars of secret contributions to the Chamber of Commerce, which ran ads against the Affordable Care Act and members of Congress who supported it.  Don’t miss the great press coverage, which came from outlets all over the world. You can see coverage from the Wall Street Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Hartford Courant, Bloomberg and the AP here.  Here’s our press release describing the event: The Chairman and CEO of Aetna Insurance, Mark Bertolini, was telling attendees at the annual meeting that his company was working hard to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when 8 protestors burst into the room shouting “We Need Health Care; Aetna’s Not Fair.” Continue reading

Coverage in the Wall St. Journal: Aetna Shareholder Meeting Halted By Protesters By Dinah Wisenberg Brin Of  DOW JONES NEWSWIRES PHILADELPHIA (Dow Jones)–Aetna Inc.’s (AET) annual shareholder meeting was halted temporarily when a group of protesters pushed through the doors to complain that the health insurance industry was trying to undermine the federal government’s health-care reform. The meeting resumed about 10 minutes later, and no arrests were made; however, the incident shows how the health-care overhaul approved last year by the federal government remains a heated issue. Aetna’s meeting had just gotten underway, and Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Bertolini was speaking to shareholders, when protesters shouting and carrying signs and bullhorns burst through the doors of the Le Meriden hotel meeting room. Aetna security whisked Bertolini out a side door, while other security people tried to restrain protesters. After the meeting, Bertolini said a protester had charged toward him.… Continue reading