Hilda Sarkisyan flew cross country last night from Los Angeles to DC so she could sit in the front row of the committee markup with a picture of her daughter, Nataline, who died at the age of 17 because CIGNA would not approve a liver transplant.
We contacted the office of George Miller, Chairman of the Education & Labor Committee, for help getting her a seat at the hearing, because the insurance companies pay $3500 to companies who hire the homeless to sleep over night in line to save theirs (see the video).
At first they said they’d work it out, and get myself and nyceve in as journalists, and then see what they could do for Hilda. Then they decided there was nothing they could do for anybody because it broke the rules — rules which allow CIGNA to buy a place at the head of the line — but they said if we got there a couple hours beforehand, they thought we could probably still get in.
So Rob H. got up early and drove all the way from Baltimore to save a place for Hilda so she could be in the hearing room. He’s the second person in line — behind Blue Cross. Thank you, Rob. You’re a real hero.
I don’t know if nyceve and I will be able to get in because we’ll be taking Hilda around to House offices today, but you can watch the hearing live online at 3pm ET. We’ll have the video link up and hopefully be liveblogging from that if all else fails.
Speaker Pelosi will be on Crooks & Liars for a live chat today at 1:30 pm ET, so anybody who goes over there might ask her why a system that allows the lobbyists to pay the homeless and turn these important public hearings into a Springsteen concert goes on unchallenged.
If you’d like to contribute to the cost of bringing Hilda Sarkisyan here to DC, you can do it here.
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Good morning!
Way to be Rob H.!
And Representative Miller? You might want to work on that constituent service bit a little more. Protecting non-voting Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s rights to hire the homeless over actual voting citizen’s rights to be heard is not the way to win friends and influence people. It just re-affirms that the Congress is for sale to the highest bidder.
We’ve got the best government money can buy.
Hey, money makes the world go round. Money talks, bullshit walks. You got to pay to play. That’s the way we do it here in Ameruhcaugh.
Go Jane..go Hilda
thanks jane, hilda, nyceve, rob and all!
will be watching at 3pm with you.
Stunning. Thank you Jane and NYCeve.
brings a whole new meaning to “Pre-Owned and Certified”
Corporate Amurka creates homelessness, then puts the homeless to work to…create more homelessness!
Rob H. You are a hero.
It’s a pain in the ass to travel from Baltimore to DC in the morning. Maybe Rob took the MARC train. Even that can be horrific given the volume of rather aggressive commuters who choose that mode in the same direction. At any rate, this is brilliant! Displace the lobbyists, for sure. They’re too over-represented in matters of more importance to the people who suffer by their paymasters.
Line standers are at least trying to make a living. That’s better than the majority of the deadbeats and freeloaders in this country.
Rob H.
I think I’m in love. Call me.
Seriously, I love to hear about ordinary citizens making a difference and beating the system designed to keep us in our place (at the back of the line). This is a great allegory of what’s wrong with the system. Insurance companies get first dibs at lawmakers. Citizens are left out in the cold.
Thanks for sharing the story Jane.
Thank you Rob H.
Rob H. is my husband! He is wonderful and I am very, very proud of him.
Dosido: you can have him when I’m through. :)
From Rob H.:
He just texted me to say, “FWIW the Blue Cross linesitter is not homeless, just trying to make a tiny bit of money (paid less than $7/hr to do it).
Well you are a lucky one! :]
Actually I have a very dear hubby of my own and I was just verklempt that someone would put themselves out to that degree on behalf of a stranger. Good on ya both!