conversation with the health care executive who blew the whistle on the health-care industry, wendell potter. his book on how he pulled back the curtain on deceptive practices is called "deadly spin." el debarge is out with his first project in nearly 15 years. the acclaimed new disk is called "second chance." we are glad you joined us. wendell potter and el debarge, coming up right now. >> all i know is his name is with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference -- >> you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment, one conversation at a time. >> nationwide is on your side >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you. thank you. former head of communications for health insurance giant cigna, who blew the whistle on deceptive health insurance practices. he is a senior fellow at the center for media and democracy and the author of "dead

and offered enticed the rewards by a lobbyist but this the same thing happened with the media wendell potter a former health insurance insider turned whistleblower revealed to raw story in an exclusive interview that he routinely why didn't die and reporters including some from major news outlets like the wall street journal and the new york times on return for favorable coverage he didn't give any names or cite any specific articles so as not to single anyone out from barry smit but did say that these meetings with reporters were a process that developed over time the resulted in many articles over the years and he also reveals in his new book deadly spin that his chief function as a senior p.r. officer at two of the largest for profit health insurance companies in the us humana and cigna was all to perpetuate myths that had no other purpose but to sustain those companies extraordinarily high profit billet so what does that say about our media environment were reporters will by those myths offer a free lunch or earlier i caught up from our studio in los angeles what an experience from the y

wendell potter, who sort of made his name when he became passionate came before this committee and he told us how at the gets rid people they don't want to have to incher because they risk may be too high. and he's a formidable person. and he testified before committees last year about these plants. and he called them faking insurance, his words, designed to earn big profits for the injured but provide little value to customers. now, this is how mini meds were. most people in this room don't have express as indicated if you work at a restaurant or retail chain in this country, or if you're a young adult working a part-time or temporary job while you are looking for a permanent one, mini meds might be the only option that you have. those who offer this make a nice pitch. they hand out a nice glossy happy people found everywhere, but the statistics aren't quite as good. so here it is. that's what mcdonald's handset to its hourly restaurant employees, and part of what underlies this hearing, from my point of view, is what our human beings and how are they going to be treated? and if you'