Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans By Wendell Potter (Read Via Audible.com)

I heard about this book on Democracy Now, when Amy Goodman interviewed the author last week. The interview was so good that I grabbed the book right away.

Don’t get me wrong, I know how much lobbying large companies do to influence government policy on their respective markets. I am sure more than most people. However I was very delighted on how candid Potter was in carefully explaining how the managed care insurance industry PR efforts worked. From funding front groups to the founding of the political parties. Just listening/reading the book is very sobering. I am finding it hard to put my thoughts into words…

This book really highlights two major issues. First how painfully downsized our news media organizations have become to the point were any PR person can feed a ‘credible new source’ biased information to push their client’s needs and view. The second is how disconnected most people about what the upper class is doing to grow their own selfish interests. I found that Potter really nailed it home when he was explaining on how the Blue Cross groups all over the states, changed from non-profit to for-profit, then selling to a larger entity only for executives of the small entities to reap large amounts of personal cash+stock compensation/bonus from the deal.

The only minus I have for the book, is at times it feels like potter is going through his grieving/separation/self-help process. He gets very reflective but is very understandable.

I believe that everyone should read this book, and I have already bought physical copies to give out.

10/10