Protesters Favoring Health Reform Disrupt Aetna Meeting
The Associated Press/BusinessWeek: Protesters Interrupt Aetna Annual Meeting
Protesters briefly interrupted Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini Friday morning during his remarks at the health insurer's annual meeting. The Hartford, Conn., company was holding the meeting at Le Meridien, a Philadelphia hotel, when several people entered the room and started chanting about the health care overhaul, spokesman Fred Laberge said. The meeting resumed a few minutes later. Aetna Inc. said in an email that the disruption was "inappropriate, uncivil and unsafe," but that people are entitled to their opinions (5/21).
Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal: Aetna Shareholder Meeting Halted By Protesters
After the meeting, Bertolini said Aetna has been working on support for health reform since 2005, when the company publicly supported requiring coverage for all individuals. ... The protesters, wearing T-shirts saying Action United, were shouting "we want health care, Aetna unfair" and "stop defeating Obama's health care reform." According to its website, Action United was formed last year "to advance the interests of low and moderate income families around Pennsylvania." It is unclear if the group was related to the protest--officials from the group weren't immediately available for comment (Wisenberg Brin, 5/20).
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Protesters Disrupt Aetna's Shareholders Meeting In Center City
Among those protesting was Alicia Dorsey of Mount Airy. Dorsey said she was on welfare now, but would go off it next month as she begins her new marketing business. "Health reform is important for America's small businesses," she said. The protesters said they based their accusations on a November article by Bloomberg News that used sources to connect an $86.2 million donation made to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2009 by America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry lobbying group (Von Bergen, 5/21).
