Ocean State Action, an umbrella group of public sector unions, advocates for low income Rhode Islanders, and social justice groups, staged a protest against United Healthcare late Tuesday afternoon.

The group claims United denies claims and care in order to boost its profit for its shareholders and that it is working against health care reform.

“Their obligation under the corporate laws of America is to protect their shareholders first, and the patients somewhere down the land,” said George Nee, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO.

“We need to stop this and the way to do that is through a public option.”

Ed Benson, a Pawtucket resident and Moveon.org member, spoke emotionally about his late wife’s struggles with cancer in the late nineties.

The couple had a good insurance policy, but he said it didn’t much matter. Despite the fact that doctors said his wife needed to remain in the hospital for four days after a procedure, United refused to fund her stay for longer than two.

“Even people with excellent insurance, even people who are articulate and willing to fight for what they need, do not always get what they need,” said Benson.

“We need a public insurance plan to keep companies to keep companies like United honest, and we need strong insurance reforms to make them put people before profits.”

The much talked about and controversial public option would be a government run health care plan that Americans would have the ability to purchase alongside private health plans. Critics argue the plan would crowd out the private health insurance industry by reimbursing doctors at lower rates – a common complaint against Medicare.

“Do you know what the public option is? The public option is the University of Rhode Island (URI), Rhode Island College (RIC), and the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI),” said Nee.

“Have those institutions ruined our state?”

About 20 protesters held signs with various slogans criticizing Republican lawmakers, the majority in both houses of Congress, and private insurance companies for lobbying against the public option.

According to Common Cause, a non-partisan group that advocates for good government, from 2000 until 2008, the health insurance lobby spent just under $84 million lobbying Congress. In 2008 alone, the industry spent $20 million in lobbying and campaign contributions.

A lesser known fact however, is that the health insurance industry has spent their money down the line, lobbying Democrats as much, and in some cases, more than Republicans – who regularly are cast as puppets of big business interests.

The so-called Max Baucus (D-Montana) plan, currently being debated in the Senate Finance Committee, was largely written by Liz Fowler, one of his staffers. Last year, Fowler was an executive Vice President at Wellpoint, a major insurer.

The Baucus plan, which features a mandate for individuals to buy insurance without the benefit of a government run plan, is being widely criticized by progressive groups.

“We are concerned with the Baucus plan because there shouldn’t be a mandate for people to buy insurance without a public option,” said Peter Asen, the Interim Director of Ocean State Action.

The plan would offer subsidies to lower income folks, but they’re generally lower than other versions of the bill in the House, and from the Senate Labor, Health, and Pensions Committee.

The Baucus plan also would force companies to pay for the subsidy on health insurance that its workers qualify for. That could give companies an incentive to discriminate against people who qualify for the subsidy – single parents, people with spouses who either don’t work, or have a low income – when it comes time to hire.

Deborah Spano, a United Healthcare Spokeswoman, when asked yesterday for comment, pointed out that the company is in favor of health insurance reform.

“We do, in fact, support health care reform. We do want all Americans to have quality, affordable healthcare. And we are working with Congress and the administration in support of an affordable, sustainable health care system,” said Spano.

Ocean State Action’s press release acknowledged the fact that United Healthcare is in favor of reform as long as it benefits them.

“The company…has publicly said it supports health care reform, but has worked behind the scenes with other private insurers to eliminate provisions that would bring greater accountability to the industry, such as giving Americans the choice of a public insurance plan,” the release states.

Blue Cross Blue Shield R.I. is also in favor of reform, but opposes a public option. David Bennett, who lost a close State Senate Primary last year to Erin Lynch, was in attendance. Bennett, a nurse at Butler Hospital, is considering a run against Al Gemma in next year’s election.

“It’s time we give the doctors back the power to treat their patients as they see fit,” said Bennett, “not the insurance companies.”