Dr Quentin Young, the legendary national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Plan
HCHP's Dr Rob Stone, Julia Vaughn, and Milton Fisk
Rob Stone and Karen Green Stone bought 5 shares in WellPoint/Anthem 5 years ago so they could attend the annual meetings in Indianapolis and "speak truth to power." Julia Vaughn received stock when Anthem demutualized in the 90's. They banded together David-like to challenge the Goliath WellPoint.
Against the odds we were successful in placing our shareholder resolution on the WellPoint/Anthem proxy ballot to be voted on at the annual meeting May 18, 2010. Now we need to build support across the country. You can help!
Rob Stone addressing the 2009 WellPoint Rally on Monument Circle.
Action Steps:
Join us Tuesday May 18 at 11 AM on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, across from WellPoint corporate headquarters. Featured speakers are Wendell Potter, former VP of CIGNA, and Dr Quentin Young, the legendary national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Plan, along with HCHP's Dr Rob Stone, Julia Vaughn, and Milton Fisk.
Sign up on MoxyVote as a supporter of HCHP. Even if you don't own any stock in anything, by joining us on MoxyVote it shows your support. (see below)
Contact any mutual funds you have for savings or a retirement account. Find out if you own WellPoint stock [NYSE-WLP] , and if you do, let them know that you want the fund to vote to support Proposal No. 3, shareholder proposal concerning a feasibility study for converting to nonprofit status. TIAA-CREF is the 12th largest holder of WellPoint stock. If you're invested with them, tell them what you think.
If you have any affiliation with a university, ask them about their endowment holdings. Does your faith tradition have a policy for socially responsible investing?
Think about buying a share so you can attend the 2011 meeting. Right now shares go for about $60 each. An internet discount broker is the best way to buy without incurring a sales fee as large as the share price.
Sick For Profit http://sickforprofit.com/ is part of Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films. Watch their video Anthem Blue Cross: Screwing Californians for Profits
#12 TIAA-CREF -Indiana connection includes pension and savings money for many teachers and professors
#210 Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - if you have any connections there
#216 Regions Bank which does business in Indiana
#341 Old National Bank
#264 Huntington Banks
#371 First National in Terre Haute
#376 Muncie and Mishawaka Indiana Trust
Further Reading:
Here is the text of the resolution as it appears on the proxy, including the WellPoint Board's recommendation of a NO vote: WellPoint Shareholder Proposal – Feasibility of Non-profit Conversion.Well Point Resoulution
"The growth of Anthem/WellPoint from its non-profit roots into the rapacious corporation it has become occurred relatively recently, since 1993. It is hard to believe it once had a socially-conscious mission. The insurance industry has outlived its usefulness and should be replaced by not-for-profit single payer financing with a private delivery system."
"The health insurance industry in this country is out of control and adds no value to our broken health care system. If Congress can't rein them in, then Americans should speak to them in the only language they understand: money. Our mutual funds, pension funds, and university endowments should completely divest themselves of publicly-traded health insurance companies."
John Geyman, MD
Author of Do Not Resuscitate: Why the Health Insurance Industry is Dying and How We Must Replace It
Past President, Physicians for a National Health Program
"I support the efforts of the small but growing number of WellPoint shareholders who are challenging the company to change its course to a socially responsible corporation that puts people ahead of profits. I encourage all shareholders to vote FOR Proposal No. 3 in support of this resolution urging WellPoint to launch a feasibility study for returning the company to its charitable, non-profit roots."
Wendell Potter, Principal, Wendell Potter Consulting, LLC
Senior Fellow on Health Care, Center for Media and Democracy
Former Vice President, Corporate Communications, CIGNA
"The grave crisis engulfing the American health system is fundamentally the work product of the for-profit health insurance industry, which is driving up medical costs relentlessly. Anthem/WellPoint is one of the very largest such malefactors and it plays this destructive role because of its fiduciary responsibility to maximize profits to its shareholders. The conversion of Anthem/WellPoint from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure was the stimulus for such destructive conduct.
The organization should return to its not-for-profit structure as a beginning of the rehabilitation of our dysfunctional health system. For an even more comprehensive reform, the nation should move to a single-payer national health insurance model, an improved and expanded Medicare for All."
Quentin Young, M.D., M.A.C.P.
National Coordinator Physicians for a National Health Program (www.pnhp.org)
Check Out - Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan on MOXY VOTE!
Support things you care about and vote with others.
Stop throwing away your proxy ballots.
Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan encourages you to register and support them on Moxy Vote.
Picured with Arianna Huffington are Rob Stone and Judy O'Bannon.
The Huffington Post Connection!
Dr. Rob Stone meets Arianna Huffington at Ivy Tech OBannon Institute for Community Service. Huffinton is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post and nationally syndicated columnist will be the capstone guest speaker for Ivy Tech - Bloomington's annual O'Bannon Institute for Community Service.
Click the Huffington Post link to view Dr. Rob Stone's Blog posts on the Huffington Post. Your comments are welcomed!
Michael Moore on Countdown With Keith Olbermann (Guest Host Lawrence O'Donnell) - Part 1 (04/22/10)
Michael Moore on Countdown With Keith Olbermann (Guest Host Lawrence O'Donnell) - Part 2 (04/22/10)
PROPOSAL NO. 3 SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL CONCERNING
A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR CONVERTING TO NONPROFIT STATUS
We have been informed that Robert Stone and Karen Green Stone (husband and wife), Bloomington, Indiana, and Julia Vaughn, Indianapolis, Indiana, collectively the beneficial owners of 53 shares of our commons stock, intend to introduce at the annual meeting the following resolution. The following shareholder proposal will be voted on at the annual meeting only if properly presented by or on behalf of Mr. Stone, Mrs. Stone and Ms. Vaughn. In accordance with SEC rules, the text of the proposed shareholder resolution and supporting statement is printed verbatim from its submission.
Whereas, the United States allows too many people to suffer and die due to lack of adequate health insurance and this is threatening the economic stability of the country; and
Whereas, no country has achieved universal healthcare through for-profit health insurance; and
Whereas, in written statements WellPoint supports "the best healthcare value for our customers" and promises "to advocate for responsible healthcare reform"; and
Whereas, WellPoint has actively opposed President Obama's healthcare reform efforts; and
Whereas, WellPoint was a nonprofit insurance company before it demutualized, raised capital through stock offerings, merged with, acquired, and demutualized other nonprofit Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies; therefore be it
Resolved, that the shareholders of WellPoint urge the board of directors to launch a feasibility study for returning to nonprofit status. This study, conducted at reasonable cost, with results made available to the stockholders, omitting any proprietary information, should be completed within nine months of the 2010 shareholder meeting.
The proponent has furnished the following statement:
Investors are concerned about the effects of runaway health costs on the economy, and the crisis of over 46 million uninsured. Recent studies show 45,000 people a year die because they lack health insurance (American Journal of Public Health 9/17/09). Tens of millions more are underinsured, able to afford coverage only through policies with huge deductibles and out of pocket expenses. The impact of high deductible policies is seen in recent bankruptcy data showing 62% of personal bankruptcies caused by illness and medical bills, but 78% of those declaring bankruptcy for medical reasons had insurance when they became ill (American Journal of Medicine 8/09). WellPoint has been a leader in marketing high deductible policies, specifically under the Tonik label.
From 1999 to 2008 American health insurance premiums increased 119% while workers earnings and overall inflation rose 30% (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Businesses cannot continue to afford covering their employees. The Hewitt Associates study "The Road Ahead: 2009" found 1 in 5 employers are planning to drop health benefits in the next 3 to 5 years. This system is unsustainable.
Studies show 31% of US healthcare spending is attributed to overhead. In comparison, Medicare runs 3.1% overhead. Most other developed nations spend less than 10% on overhead (New England Journal of Medicine 8/21/03). Nations with universal systems spend about half what we spend on a per capita basis and have better health outcomes (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).
WellPoint's reputation has suffered as a consequence of the negative publicity surrounding its efforts to oppose healthcare reform. This resolution could change that.
The Board recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal for the following reasons:
This proposal requests that our Board of Directors conduct a feasibility study for "returning" the Company to nonprofit status. As an initial matter, the proposal states that we were formerly a nonprofit entity. That is not correct. Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc., one of our wholly-owned stock subsidiaries, was until its demutualization in 2001, a "for profit" mutual insurance company organized under Indiana law (although some of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies we have acquired since 1993 had been nonprofit entities at some time in their respective corporate histories). Nevertheless, we assume that the fundamental intent of this shareholder proposal is to call for a feasibility study for our conversion to a nonprofit organization. We are responding to the proposal on that basis.
Converting to a nonprofit organization would result in, among other things, the elimination of the ownership interests of our shareholders. The Board does not believe that the vast majority of our shareholders desire that result. Moreover, the Board believes that the process of converting to nonprofit status would be costly and complex. While it is not clear what transaction structure could be used to accomplish a conversion to nonprofit status, the Board believes that any conversion transaction would require at a minimum that our shareholders receive the fair value of their shares (except for shares held by any shareholders willing to contribute them without consideration as a charitable contribution), which would require, in the aggregate, the payment of significant sums of cash.
The Board believes that our conversion to a nonprofit organization would not be in our best interests or the best interests of our shareholders, employees, customers and members, as well as the communities we serve. The Board believes that having access to the public capital markets is the best way to strengthen our capital and competitive position, to serve an increasing number of customers and members, and to continue investing in infrastructure, new products and programs that improve the quality of service to customers and members. As a nonprofit organization, we would not be able to raise capital by selling stock and could not issue stock to pay for business acquisitions. Without access to the equity markets, the Board also believes that our ability to borrow money to support our operations and fund business investments and business acquisitions would be more restricted and more costly as compared to our borrowings as a for profit stock corporation. In addition, we would be restricted in our use of stock as part of the compensation plans and programs for our employees, which would likely impair our ability to attract and retain well-qualified individuals to our management team and to set compensation and benefits programs that are consistent with market practice. Overall, the Board believes that our future growth, new product development and our ability to serve our constituencies would be impaired by the reduced capital that would be available to us as a nonprofit organization.
The proponent of this proposal has not presented any factual information to support the view that converting to nonprofit status would benefit us or our shareholders, employees, customers and members. On the contrary, for the reasons described above, the Board believes that converting to nonprofit status would not be in our best interests or in the best interests of our shareholders, employees, customers and members. A feasibility study for converting to nonprofit status would be costly and would distract management and the Board from overseeing our operations and, given the other considerations described above, is unwarranted.
For the reasons described above, the Board opposes the feasibility study requested in the proposal and recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal. Proxies will be voted AGAINST the proposal unless you specify otherwise.
HCHP BLOG
For more information, links, and the opportunity to share your
ideas, please visit the HCHP Blog.
The link to stay connected with the Health Care Crisis and
Reform initiatives!
"This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promise of Democracy."
Martin Luther King
"I Have a Dream"
August 28, 1963
Save the Date: WellPoint's Annual Meeting will be Tuesday, May 18 in Indianapolis.
There will be a rally at Monument Circle, details to be announced.
Read the Shareholder Resolution that will be voted on by the stockholders that morning.
Mission: Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health
Plan is a group of Indiana citizens who support a publicly
financed, privately delivered (single payer) universal health
plan at the state and national level. HCHP is working to educate
the public and the legislature about the benefits of a single
payer plan. We are seeking individuals and groups who have an
interest in helping achieve this goal.
