early last year, potter left cigna.mmer, before the senate commerce committee, he went public for the first time. >> recently, it became abundantly clear to me that the industry's charm offensive, which is the most visible part of a duplicitous and well- financed p.r. and lobbying campaign, may well shape reform in a way that benefits wall street far more than average americans. the industry and its backers are using fear tactics, as they did in 1994, to tar a transparent and accountable, publicly accountable health care option as, quote, "government-run health care." but what we have today, mr. chairman, is wall street-run health care that has proven itself an untrustworthy partner to its customers, to the doctors and hospitals who deliver care, and to the state and federal governments that attempt to regulate it. >> moyers: wendell potter joins us now. welcome to the journal. >> thank you very much for having me here. >> moyers: you worked for cigna 15 years and left last year. >> i did. >> moyers: were you pushed out

early last year, potr left cigna.mmer, bore the senate commerce committee, went public for the first tim >> rently, it became abundantlylear to me that the industry's charm offenve, which is the most visible rt of a duplicito and well- financed p.r. anlobbying campai, may well shape reform in a way that benefi wall street far morthan average amerans. the indury and its backers are ing fear tactics, as ty did in 1994,o tar a transparent and accountabl publicly accotable health care option as, quote, "governnt-run health car" but what we ha today, mr. chairman, wall street-run health care th has proven itself an trustworthy partner to its ctomers, to the doctors and hoitals who deliver care, and tohe state and federal governmentthat attempt to gulate it. >> moyer wendell potter joins us now. welcome to the journal >> thank you vermuch for having mhere. >> moyers: y worked for cigna 15 years and left last year. >> i did. >> moyers: were you push out? >> i was not. i left... it was mdecision to leave, and my decision to a

but of course, i had to go to the cigna health quarter in glendale, california and make a big protest. why? i'm insured. i'm a parent that needs to be next to her daughter to make her feel better and they called it experimental. as soon as they saw, when they saw all this big giant movement and the media coverage and they reversed their decision, why did they reverse it for that only? they should not even deny coverage. we were fully insured. i know that insurance companies are here today for profit before patient. and insurance companies cannot decide who's going to live and who's going to die. they can't do that. so my message to congress, they need to put on table a better plan. a plan that the people can choose. this is a free country. let the american people have the opportunity to choose who they want to work with, who they want their health care insurance to be with. and you know, i'm an american citizen, a mom, and my message to everyone is yes, my daughter did pass away but guess what, i'm going to continue my fight to help others. >> well, hill da sar keysian, we wish you th

most recently communications director for cigna. until he attended a tennessee public health care fair in 2007 that turned his view of american health care upside down. he left cigna and he's now a senior fellow on health care at the center for media and democracy. thank you so much for your time tonight, wendell phillips. >> thank you so much, governor. thank you for the opportunity. >> ideology aside, what motive do blue dogs and republicans have to defeat the public option? >> well, i think the motive is to satisfy the expectations of the insurance industry. one of the things we have to keep in mind is that the insurance industry has basketball devoting a lot of time and attention and money as well to make sure that the republicans are lined up behind them, and they have been focusing most of their attention, most recently, on the members that they might be able to persuade, and those include the blue dog democrats. >> robert zirtelback is a spokesman for america's health insurance plan. today he said, quote, for every dollar our

he's also a former vice president for the insurance giant cigna. mr. potter, good to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. is the industry telling the truth to the american people and telling the truth to those in the congress? >> no, they're not. and that's one of the reasons why i left my job at cigna. and why i decided to speak out. i didn't want to be a part of that -- those lies and misleading statements once again. i've been a part of them in the past and i didn't want to do that again. >> where are the insurance companies making their big profits when it comes to health care? what are they doing to consumers? >> what they're doing to consumers is number one, they're shifting a lot more of the financial burden from them and the employers onto the shoulders of working men and women. and they also are very actively looking at claims when they're submitted and they're acting -- taking action to duck people when they're sick, either in the individual market or in the small groups. a lot of small employers no longer can afford health care

edward hanway, the chairman and ceo of cigna, the country's fourth largest insurance company.t the beginning of the year, cigna blamed hard economic times when it announced the layoff of 1,100 employees. but it reported first quarter profits of $208 million on revenues of $4 billion. mr. hanway has announced his retirement at the end of the year, and the living will be easy, financially at least. he made $11.4 million dollars in 2008, according to the associated press, and some years more than that. that's a lot of oysters, although he lags behind ron williams, the c.e.o. of aetna insurance, who made more than $17 million dollars last year, or john hammergren, the head of mckesson, the biggest health care company in the world. his compensation was nearly $30 million. here's the difference. to dr.regina benjamin, health care is a service, helping people in need with grace and compassion. to ed hanway and his highly paid friends, it's big business, a commodity to be sold to those who can afford it. and woe to anyone who gets between them and the profits they reap from sick peopl

cigna, $12 million. host: what would you like to see done? caller: it just goes on and on. host: what would you like to see happen? caller: there used to be a formula for executives. some formula -- i don't think it was under law -- but something like 80%, top salary to the bottom. host: let us get back to the topic. d. think the fact that democrats control 60 seats will make a difference? will al franken make a difference? caller: i doubt it. i don't know what the answer is, but i worked in medicine for many years and it was so simple,

cigna reported quarterly profit of $1'14, 18 cent above estimate.naged care company is gouging clients, obviously not providing -- no, no, take that all back. but obviously there is a managed care company that did report a profit that was -- >> how dare they? >> also increase full year guidance. >> tyco shares called higher. they earned 58 cents a share for the third quarter, 13 cents better than wall street expected and was helped with better than expected revenue from services. not a company where it was just cost cutting. >> one more stock, newell rubbermaid, up by 12 cents. if you're not going out to dinner you might be storing leftovers and some -- >> the new rubbermaid -- >> can we do -- >> do you want to sing? >> i want to do the promo. hi, we're the "squawk" -- >> yes, we are the "squawk box" team. join us every morning, monday through friday, 6:00 a.m. >> don't watch the cheap imitators, the people that change their names. watch us. >> when we come back, former health and human services secretary tommy thompson with his formula to fix healt

you had a gg lllly today, quite ininteststin the insurance ststoc n n a, cigna, u unid alal were up 5 5o 7%. th goes t what eve forbes isissaying. the p popar outctcry against another government insusuraee entitlement plan on top the ct that mededarare and medicaid are bankrupt,, thatt m m have swayed team o oba to back off. would you buyiying hlth care?? i knowouou'r into clilil ca, but thisisis a special niche play,y, espspecllll these insusure.. >> i wouldn'n't much, larry, i'd be underweighght atatrerea. it's been mewhat pular of late and a ni moveveecently here.. i thihink that steaea did character o the grorohh eararnis of those companies,,umumbe e, they're atigh risk whatoeoe ultimately comomeowow on healtl care as f far ass policy. number two, i i thinkthey've ben bid up f for that steady e edd character and iththin thatilil palecocoared to the cyclicical lelevege some oththarkets have. ii ree, you think the calls i the last couplple d dss for anor policy stimulus is neeeede i think that's beururtf to t t ovoverl l ock market. wowoul likeoo seseehe government calaldo, and let

look at a few examples, aetna, cigna, united health all on a downside on a huge upward day. let's go from laggers to le leaders. financials, right at the front of the pack with that bull baton. look at the whole week. you have citi, amx and others. and jpmorgan is up 13%. analyst dick says it could beat this week. look at the whole group. look what kind of day they might have. people thought goldman might sell on all the news but held up. i don't know if i have the week 29th look at, to show where the buildup was leading into their earnings, right here when they led top it. they consolidated and they popped today. you know what that makes, larry? i've been practicing. >> great, how did you do that? >> practice makes perfect. we get ibm and google as well a. lot of ways, put goldman sachs aside, bank of america and jpmorgan, estimates are losses to gains and what they do might be a better indicator where we are in the banking sector. >> i think the most amazing thing almost out of left field, the profits driver of the stock market. economic news today, industrial production w

joining me now from the center for media and democracy, a former vice president for the insurance giant cigna. good to have you with us tonight. did you ever think that it would get to the level where they would be saying that we're actually going to kill people under a health care plan. that's basically what they're saying. >> yes, i did anticipate that and i do believe it. buzz it is just part of the scare tactics that have been planned for quite a long time. and they've been a central part of a health insurance industry campaign to kill any kind of reform over the past several years. >> do they have a war room? do they pay attention to polls? do they pay attention to the way the american people are receiving all of this? and are they organized with the way they want to attack it? >> absolutely. they've been anticipating this and planning for this a long time. they knew this was coming. they're very well organized. they poll on a monthly basis to find out where the public's opinions are. and they do an enormous amount of research into what maeszages resonate with the public. that's how they

all anyone wants to talk about is business you're king away from cvs and whether you're g to buy cigna's pharma benefit nager. why aren't people looking at bigger picture a thinking, unr the obama administration, there's real only a couple big healthcare compaes that are going to win, and urs is it. you're not promotional in yo calls. that's part of your oblem. >> you know me, i'm not a sa guy. >>ou're not. >> why is the focus on t next big generic d on cvs instead how if the government actually pays attention toou outcom work, you will get a lot more business. >>ou know, it's funny. i actuallyhink the street does pay a lot of attention to r clinical efforts. and we've gotten lot of credit for novation, and it's tied to our clinical efforts. you know w they don't talk about . medco in the lastwo yes has won over $16 blion worth of new name business. thoof is in the pudding. you can either talk about the brdable fferences of medco, or you can look at t sales results. ey focus on the results, just like you do on your show >> i do because, fornstance, walmart mos in it, and i only fi out --

for the record, the rnc uses cigna. not blue cross, blue shield.aves when he was asked to explain the gop plan for health care. watch. >> an individual requirement, what do you mean by an individual requirement? do we support requiring individuals to get health coverage? again, that is one of those areas where there -- there is different opinions by some in the house and the senate on this. and look, i don't do policy. >> turns out he didn't even do insurance for a few years either. in 2006 while running for the senate in maryland, "the washington post" reported steele had gone three years without insurance. during a campaign event confessed he told his kids "don't break anything because daddy can't afford to fix it." add to that his unusual remarks when asked about his approach to making the republican party more inclusive. watch. >> my plan is to say y'all come. because a lot of you are already here. there you go. i got the fried chicken and potato salad, okay? >> steele also said joe the plumber helped republicans get their groove back in last y

at the beginning of the year cigna bled hard economic times en it announced the layoff o 1,10employeesbut it reported rst quarter profits of $208 million on revenues of $4 billion. mr. hanway has aounced his retireme at the end of the year, and the livingill be easyfinancially at least. he made $11.4 milliodollars in 20, according to the associated press, and me years more than that. that a lot of oysters, although he lags bind ron williams, the c.e.o. of aetn insurance, who me more than $17 million dollars last yea or john hammergren, the he of mckesson, the biggt health care company in the rld. his coensation was nearly $30 million. here's the difference. to dr.regi benjamin, health care is a serve, helping peoplen need with grace and compassi. to ed hanway and his highly id friends, it's big busine, a commodity to bsold to those who can afford it. d woe to anyone who gets between themnd the profits they reap fromick people. that behavior includes speing nely a million and a half a day-- a day!-- tmake sure health care reform comes out thr way. ov the years they've lavished millions

tna, cigna, a allhose moving to the up sidede. nanateajority leader rrrry reidid says th the democratstsa w w op to the possibility ofof maybe doing s som sort of non-governmental co-o-op rather than a a government-runun an. th is one of the thihing that's going totoavave these s stoss contininue to be volatile as we continue to hear ee discussions as they momo towowd d so sort of health reform bbil that's ittfrfrom here. let's move totown to the nasdaq and mike ckckn.n. >> t tha y you berthth here at the nanasd we had a realal c choy morningsession. yoyou n see that up a adown, seesawaw, r rolr cocoteter,hater yowawa to calall it. but we have beenen picking up steam throughoho t the afternoo asas ttt trtrad chartrt shows. and right now 're up 12 points, aa little momore t tha a percent. the chchip areefefinely chippingng ibebeuse look at the ililadphia semiconductor index, up more than 3% right now. at's really in larargepapa d due to a buishcaca out of cohen & company, whihi i iniated coveragege tayayf broadcom, icicis up 4 1/2%

motorola, cigna, colgate and dow chemical. friday, we'll get chevron and auto nation on a week where cash for clunkers kicks off. i think you might be looking at some aetna numbers right now. >> i am, carl. you're absolutely right. operating at 77 cents with a 78-cent estimate on the books for first call. revenue, 8.66 billion. that's above expectations. companies taking appropriate actions to address higher medical costs, which is a lot of times what controls a managed care company's result. that medical loss ratio. i'm sure this company has some other things in mind, given what goes on in washington every day. big stuff about these blue dogs and the blue pups. apparently the head blue dog guy had a bunch of blue dogs playing dmar cards in his office. there used to be the expression, even a yellow dog could get elected somewhere. these guys adopted the blue dog. they are the tail wagging the entire tail of the democratic party and the progressives are not happy. >> you saw them over the weekend, we can't do this ourselves. >>

dow jones industrial average and we'll get results from the like of barrick gold, colgate ham olive, cigna, dow chemical and after just heard from basf lowering its guidance and saying here in north america, it's wa too early to tell whether things are turning around. eastman kodak is reporting, international paper and mastercard. walt disney will be the highlight after the closing bell along with genworth and metlife. >>> coming up on "worldwide exchange," will stimulus spending at home and abroad pump up demand for cars and electronics in the second half? >> plus, the sales of wii have started to lose some punch. >>> i'm christine tan. in asia, sony posted a smaller than expected loss in the first quarter and said it is aiming to beat its full year forecast. >>> and i'm ross westgate. in europe, it's a big day for earnings with shell, bp all weighing in. >> i'm bertha coombs. investors brace for earnings of exxon mobil, disney and another treasury auction. >> the ftse cnbc 300 has been ticking higher, just up 0.4% at the moments. the ftse 100 is firmer on the back of the news. basf, we j

t theorld's largest airlinene > some of the alth care and managed car winnerer highgherriri for cigna%. kof trihealth, up morore than 5. rumors that ththerss some kind f cororomi when it comes s tohehe puic auctiononhen it comes to health careeform and w wheer or notothehere will be p plilicr a a alth insurance cpapany adadnistered by ththe governmen >>> well oil ctatain has had some wilild s sngs the pt yr, he said, stating t the obviviou 147 atat teak last year. $33 earlrlr r th year and now at $62.2. gugulars may be pparing to crackdown on speculatatorin that and other markets. mpmpto pearson is in washington with dedetas.s. mpmpn? >> bill,l,pepefically, the chchaianan, basically mayay b thinkingng o craraftgg tough ne rules to clamp down o on speculative energy traders and othercommodity's markets and he's plannnnin se public heariningsoo get at the hett o ththmamatt in the nexext few weeks. rececent spent a a lot of time testifying o oapitol hill in front ofcocongssional commititte a aut his enency plplanoror r regatory r rororma he wants to hearrom bunesses. mamaetet rticipants

i'm just noticing the cigna of the doors on that helicopter, christine. i don't know whether you noticed it. chunky. >> i didn't, but thank you very much for pointing it out for us. i wouldn't have noticed it otherwise, ross. only you would have noticed something like that. coming up on the show, plenty of things to talk about. "worldwide exchange," japan's machinery orders falling to a record low in may. will this prompt the government to boost the economy? >>> and preparations for the g-8 have been so chaotic that some say it's going to cause italy to be expelled from the group. >>> we are getting pictures that marine one is taking off to bring the president to the place of location of the g-8, which is l'aquila, which is 1 1/2 hours away from rome. there it is, taking off with president obama and his wife inside. here on "worldwide exchange," i'm christine tan. machinery orders fall to a record low. >>> and i'm ross westgate. as christine was saying, the g-8 summit is getting off to a shaky start. the chinese president has had to head home early to dea

regarding the former ceo of cigna health insurance and their alleged ways of denying in coverage. a public option would do the same thing through rationing. i'm tired of hearing everyone talk about profit said slow it is a bad thing. -- profit as though it is a bad thing. free enterprise is what this economy was built on. host: would you explain your first comment about how the public option would affect the outcome? caller: the public option is not going to cover everybody all the time without rationing health care. there's no way to do that economically. guest: it is hard to comment on specifics. yester day this blue dog agreement fooled with the public auction in little bit. -- filled with the public option a little bit. the feeling among those who supports the public option is that it would put government in competition with the private insurance company. it is not rationing or dictating. all those details are getting worked out. host: the next phone call on our democrats wind, keiline, keith. caller: i was watching rachel maddow a few nights ago and she will cool. -- it prove

of cigna. annual revenue, $19.1 billion. $292 million in net income. his income, $12.2. let's call out these names because i think it's important for americans to put the names on the faces of those who are reaping billions of dollars of profit netting pill i don't know, sir of dollars in salary and then taking the american public to the bank without health care reform. ronald williams of aetna, $30.9 billion in revenue for aetna. $2.8 billion in net income. and his salary, $24.3 million. this is outrageous. there's a lot at stake. i understand why these folks are fighting health care reform. i understand, because they stand a lot to lose. and our job here in the united states congress is to make sure that it's the american public that wins, that it's the taxpayer that wins, that it's the patient that wins, that it's the doctor who has a relationship with its patient and not these insurance companies standing between you and your health care, between you and your doctor. with that, i yield. mr. ellison: the gentlelady yields. actually i have a few questions. but i'm goin

we have made very cigna began progress as a 6:00 a.m.this morning. -- significant process as of 6:00 a.m. this morning. we will not waver in our commitment to bringing down health-care costs. it is thougse high cost of bring such a burnham. -- such a burden. middle-class americans are paying other's bills. they need to be in the system. we are moving toward that. we want to make all americans have access to affordable and quality healthcare. we need to build on the cost containment measures we already have. there are substantial reforms that have been put in by these two committees. the american people are demanding health care reform. they know that we cannot go on much longer with such a truly broken system. do we have good health care in america? we do. it is not accessible to many. it cost twice as much as most countries. it bankrupt's middle-class families, it drives down -- drives us to debt every year. we need to restore it piece of mind that americans deserve. no family to go to sleep at night and worry about their child getting

shareholders prior to the merger, the government said a signal to the management of all systemically cigna to get banks that their mistakes and their mistakes will be treated differently regulators than those treated by managers of a midsize banks free over the coming months and years, this will prove dangerous and we will deeply regret this. i yield back. >> mr. chairman, we have not received any of the documents never displayed. could we get copies of each of those to put on the boards? >> i would be delighted to do so. i now yield to the john lennon of zero hot -- judgment from ohio, again. -- i now yield to the gentleman from ohio. >> thank you. i would also like to think secretary paulson for coming before the committee today. i look forward to the testimony fall 2008 was a watershed time for our economy. it was a time for economic challenge that we felt those five and of women in credit tightening. i believe this is dangerous and think many americans would argue that it has not helped. federal bailouts and stimulus packages are transforming our free-market economy to a political econ

class status, i remember when i was in college, i had some -- for those of you who -- i was a delta cignaheta and my colleagues were from new york and i was from chicago and they talked about soda pop and the airport and i thought it was strange and it was because they were black people from new york versus black people from chicago, versus black people from alabama or california and i think we have lots of interesting examples in the this public media, to sort of help us understand, in parted the power of african-american english or black english and one of this points i often make is, if you listen for example to someone like oprah winfrey, who transfers verses many kinds of boundaries and most of the time you hear her speaking what we call the quote-unquote standard english, until she wants to get intimate, and when she wants to get intimate and bring the audience in close, and to have them feel that they are really at home, no matter who is out there in that audience she'll revert to speaking black english, and i think if you listen to our president, president barack obama, and when h