Arline Bolvin
Speaking at a health care forum held at the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein campus Thursday, December 10, Shawn Donahue, director of government relations (read lobbyist) for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, said that the “fundamental core of the debate and the overarching question is whether it is right to profit from someone’s illness.” Donahue went on to ask these questions: “Is it right, for example, for Pfizer to profit from a drug that will help people avoid heart attacks, or a device manufacturer to charge $10,000 for a pacemaker? I think this is what’s really behind the debate,” he stated. Donahue went on to say that pre-existing conditions and technicalities should not be the cause for people to lose their coverage and that if reform is passed 150,000 lives could be saved over the next ten years because as it is now, of those who are uninsured 15,000 people die each year because of lack of health care”. Continue reading ‘Health Care Forum’
