Talk:Wendell Potter

In Virginia
This article mentions a free clinic in Virginia. But I just watched an interview with him (just google his name for it, it's all over the place) with Bill Moyers and he mentioned a clinic in Tennessee several times, and nothing about Virginia. Is the reference to Virginia in this article referring to something else, or is it a mistake? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.67.44.15 (talk) 06:19, 3 August 2009 (UTC)


 * According to the Guardian, the clinic was in Virginia. It's possible that he might have visited numerous clinics; perhaps a second source would provide further verification? +  A.Ou  07:16, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

The Remote Area Medical free clinic was held in Wise County, VA, near his childhood home in Tennessee. He was visiting his parents and drove to the clinic from there. Bluehwyflaneur (talk) 00:55, 1 December 2010 (UTC) Remote Area Medical Clinics are typically a single weekend event that are only sporadically repeated in the same location, perhaps a year later. They are completely dependent on volunteer providers.

Working to block single payer health insurance
The article should mention that Wendell Potter advocated against single payer insurance. A safe conclusion then is that Wendell Potter is variously anti-consumer. In his own words (which in this poster's opinion are sublimely manipulative or less cynically stated - what we would expect from any politician): https://www.singlepayeraction.org/2017/01/12/ida-tarbell-wendell-potter-and-single-payer/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.153.125.160 (talk • contribs)

NPOV tag / Whitewashing
This article lacks what I see as the biggest reason for his notability: the fact that he lied about the Canadian healthcare system in order to discredit it, and later came to regret it. For example:
 * I owe the American people an apology': A former healthcare executive says he's sorry for devising the biggest argument against Medicare for All
 * I sold Americans a lie about Canadian medicine. Now we’re paying the price.
 * This former U.S. health insurance exec says he lied to Americans about Canadian health care
 * NPR: "Wendell Potter spent decades scaring Americans. About Canada. He worked for the health insurance industry, and he knew that if Americans understood Canadian-style health care, they might.... like it. So he helped deploy an industry playbook for protecting the health insurance agency."

As it stands, the article makes him into some kind of saint of health care reform. Possibly (talk) 15:59, 6 December 2020 (UTC)


 * I agree. Since there is no objection after nearly a year, and since you have the sources lined up, I suggest WP:BOLD edits to rectify the problem. Coretheapple (talk) 20:56, 16 October 2021 (UTC)
 * There were notable Christian saints who were liars or even criminals before redemption and transformation. OveGjerlow (talk) 22:39, 27 April 2024 (UTC)