I had never seen anything like it or heard anything like that before. It just hit home to me - that this was the plight that many Americans are now finding themselves in and more and more Americans will in the future if we don't do something to radically reform our health care system. A lot of people, I learned later, have a policy and are in these plans we mentioned earlier that require them to pay so much out of their own pocket that they can't afford to go to the doctor, or pick up their medications, or get their eyeglasses, or go to the dentist. And many of them are in benefit plans that are so limited that they don't cover what they need. I also found out later that some of these people have told the organizers of Remote Area Medical that their insurance companies encouraged them to call them because the insurance companies couldn't help them. It was just amazing, the insurance companies were telling the policy holders to call organizations like Remote Area Medical to get care.
You mentioned that this organization started out working in the Amazon jungle but has seen a need in the United State and has done 500 so far. Is that all across the country?
It is. They started out primarily in rural areas throughout the county, even on Indian reservations. But also, they're beginning to do some in urban areas. The first urban expedition was held recently in Los Angeles, and over eight days they served thousands of people who needed care. So it's a need. I met with Stan Brock in Washington yesterday [Wednesday]. He was there providing testimony before Congress about the need that he and his fellow volunteers meet. And he was telling me that they're hoping to have [an expedition] in Washington. I'm hoping that they will so that maybe policy makers and members of Congress can volunteer their time to go help out.
Can you supply us with the link to that organization so that people can read about this organization?
Yes, it's RAMUSA.org Do go to that website you'll be amazed at what you see. There are links to news coverage over the recent past including a segment on 60 Minutes that's very compelling. So I would encourage people to go to that site and learn more about that organization. It's doing wonderful things and Stan Brock, in my view, is a real saint.
Sounds terrific. You ended up quitting CIGNA. But you didn't stop there. You became a whistleblower. I'm assuming you didn't quit thinking "This is bad. I've got to go tell someone about it. Or did you? How did the decision to blow the whistle evolve?
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