Thread by @wendellpotter

There’s been a lot of talk lately about big corporations (eg, Amazon, Verizon, Comcast, etc) deciding to stop giving $ to House & Senate Republicans who voted to overturn @JoeBiden’s election. Guess which giants aren't on that list? America's big for-profit health insurers. (1/8)

Over the past 2 election cycles, Big Insurance has donated to just about all the 147 House & Senate Republicans who voted against certifying the election. That includes Cigna & Humana, where I once worked, and Centene & CVS/Aetna. Plus the industry's lobbying group, AHIP. (2/8)

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which represents a lot of nonprofit insurers & for-profit Anthem, says it’s suspending donations to those Republicans. And UnitedHealth says it will “pause” its political donations. But let’s see how long these “pauses” actually last. (3/8)

So far, we haven't heard a peep from AHIP or the other big for-profits, all of which have made huge profits during the pandemic, thanks largely to having lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle in their pockets. (4/8)

Big Insurance donated more than $9 million to House & Senate candidates during the 2020 cycle. Among their favorites? Ted Cruz & Josh Hawley, who led the effort to overturn the election. All the big for-profits donated to Cruz, and all but CVS/Aetna donated to Hawley. (5/8)

Enough with the games. It’s time for @Centene, @Cigna, @CVSHealth, @Humana, @UHC, @AHIPCoverage and @BCBAssociation to PERMANENTLY suspend donations to members of Congress who voted to overturn the wishes of America's voters to push Donald Trump out of the White House. (6/8)

It’s also time for ALL DEMOCRATS to refuse donations from Big Insurance from now on. My old industry is also one of the biggest spenders on *lobbying* in Washington, dropping more than $65 million lobbying Congress & the White House, all to protect their profits. (7/8)

Meanwhile, growing numbers of health insurance customers are forced to file for bankruptcy, or turn to GoFundMe because of denied claims and exorbitant deductibles & copays. Big Insurance is already doing enough damage. The least it can do is stop funding an insurrection. (/END.)