Coalition Staffer Featured at DC Health Care Rally

On Thursday, October 22nd the Coalition was proud to be represented so well by its own Courtney Jenkins-Atnip at a rally in support of health care reform. Below are snippets of a report from National Public Radio who interviewed Courtney as well as video clips from the Rally that include excerpts of her comments.

NPR Reporting: Advocates of an expansive health care overhaul demonstrated Thursday in Washington in front of a hotel where a large trade group of major health insurers is holding a conference. Their target was America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group.

Here in Washington today, there was a protest over the health care overhaul. The demonstrators gathered not in front of the White House or the Capitol, but in front of a hotel on K Street. Why? Because that's where a powerful group of major health insurers is holding a conference.

NPR's Andrea Seabrook took in the scene.

ANDREA SEABROOK: Washington hotels are always busy with conferences, but today, the Capitol Hilton had dueling advocacy groups inside. Down one plush hallway was the trade group AHIP, America's Health Insurance Plans. Their section was cordoned off with security checkpoints. At the other end of the hall: HCAN, Health Care for America Now, a coalition of labor and left-leaning groups pushing health reform. They were holding a press conference with people who say they've been victims of bad health insurance policies like Courtney Atnip(ph) from Tennessee.

Ms. COURTNEY ATNIP: I'm just tired of health insurance dictating your quality of life.

SEABROOK: Atnip has Crohn's Disease. It's a chronic disorder of the intestines. Her doctor wanted to increase her dose of a medication that was preventing the disease from flaring up, but her health insurer deemed the drug medically unnecessary and cancelled the prescription altogether. She went for a month without it.

Ms. ATNIP: In January, they re-instated the medication, but it was too late. I was already getting really sick. May 1st, I had massive surgery at Vanderbilt Hospital that cost upwards of $750,000. 

To read the rest of the article and listen to the NPR Report.

To see rally video with Courtney's comments.

To read the stories of key speakers, including Courtney.

Congressional Meetings

In addition to the rally Courtney had a chance to meet personally with many of Tennessee's Congressmen including Representative Cooper,  pictured above right with her.