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You remember Joe Szakos, right? He’s the courageous head of the Virginia Organizing Project, our affiliate in VA. He’s also an Anthem Blue Cross customer, and his rates just increased 14%. The same week, he received an email from Blue Cross bashing a public health insurance option.
The fact that Blue Cross was spending money that it was extorting from Szakos to help kill reform was infuriating. Szakos did something about it:
Szakos immediately had some questions for Anthem. Chief among them, why is Anthem using its resources to lobby against health care reform with a public health insurance option while at the same time increasing rates by 14.1%?
Szakos, along with three other Virginia Organizing Project board members, went down to Anthem’s offices in Richmond, VA to ask. He left in handcuffs. Watch the video:
Szakos, a customer, couldn’t get an answer from Anthem. There was no justification for raising rates on one hand, and spending money lobbying against health care reform on the other. And instead of trying to offer Szakos an explanation, they had him arrested.
Szakos’ trial began on Monday, and the judge decided to dismiss all charges.
From Virginia Organizing Project’s press release:
Evidence showed that customers are permitted in the main entrance where Szakos attempted to enter Anthem’s Richmond headquarters in July. Evidence also showed that Szakos was connected by cell phone at the time of arrest-waiting for an Anthem representative-following the instructions Anthem security had given him. Judge Neil Steverson chose not to convict Szakos for trespassing on his own insurance company’s property.
Of course, Anthem still succeeded in wasting taxpayer money going ahead with this silly trial. And they’re still spending money opposing health reform. But we know one thing; if you’re a customer, you can go down to your health insurance company and ask them about your rate increases and their lobbying practices. Perhaps more people should.
(also posted at the NOW! blog)
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18 Comments
Good for the judge, but I wish he’d awarded Szako damages for being required to pay the expenses of the company that prosecuted him, and uses his premiums to defeat his interests in so many ways.
Good! Joe is a fine man who really did not deserve this. He continually stands up for us at his own peril.
Happy Thanksgiving Joe!
Happy Thanksgiving indeed.
Cue Limpy, Beck, and the rest to begin screaming about liberal judges in three, two, one …
Ya gotta love a fighter.
And Szakos, an obviously mild-mannered man, far from being an habitual, say – bar-fighter, still very much qualifies as a fighter. Might very well have been his first time ever. He did good.
Just goes to show that one doesn’t have to be a six-foot, six-inch inch, 300 pound man to be properly considered to be a true fighter.
We all can be.
The only way anything will change in this corrupt and ossified country is through a nationwide movement of civil disobedience and protest.
I am ready to sign up.
Szakos’ trial began on Monday, and the judge decided to dismiss all charges.
The deep pockets, filled with our money, will appeal.
not so sure. the judge may have done them a favor in dismissing a case wherein the substance of Mr Szakos complaint would have been featured prominently
Happy Thanksgiving. Be thankful we are not living in a police state errrrrrrrr. Forget it.
Got that right. Things seem to be getting worse than better.
Da judge must have insurance issues too.
Good.
We all do and it is a damn fine post. Thanks for pointing this out Jason.
seriously, good job joe et al.
now, let’s send this thing viral.
Cool! Now the thing to do is go back and do exactly the same thing again.
My insurance has gone up this year from $1,250 to about $1,430. I didn’t bother to calculate how much that is on a percentage basis but it’s a lot.
It’s….14%.
My health insurance went up 17% and no COLA for Social Security people. We’re getting $20.80 a month, not even enough for a tank of gas in a Prius.
Good on ya, Joe.
When I was in high school in a little town (Prestonsburg) in Eastern Kentucky, the first job I ever held was doing computer work for the Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition — which eventually became Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.
The first boss I ever had? Joe Szakos, who left KFTC to head to VOP. He’s always fought the good fight and I have the greatest respect for him.
He also was a hell of a beer-league softball player. :)
Joe was also instrumental here in Charlottesville during the living wage campaign at UVA- 17 students arrested during a sit in at the administration building.