Liberal groups to protest health insurance conference Tuesday

President Obama may have softened his rhetoric against the insurance industry since he took office, and Democratic lawmakers regularly meeting with insurance lobbyists, but left-leaning activists are not ready to do the same.

An ad hoc coalition of liberal activist groups plans to stage a protest Tuesday at a conference sponsored by the health insurance industry lobby.

A slew of organizations plans to raise the ruckus Tuesday at 11 a.m. outside the Ritz-Carlton, where America’s Health Insurance Plans is holding its conference this week. White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag is speaking at the conference Tuesday but he’ll miss all the fun because he’s leaving at 9 a.m.

The roster of liberal organizations runs the gamut from huge labor unions to small activist groups but they have one thing in common: They really, really don’t like health insurance companies. Many of the participants also advocate for nationalized, single-payer healthcare, a reform Obama has rejected but that remains close to the hearts of many liberals.

Here’s a list (though it may not be 100 percent complete):

• AFL-CIO
• National Education Association
• MoveOn.org
• Public Citizen
• Campaign for America’s Future
• Health Care for America Now
• Progressive Democrats of America
• California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee
• Physicians for a National Health Program
• The Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care
• The Vineeta Foundation
• DC for Obama
• DC Fights Back

They even have a Facebook page for the event. The Progressive Democrats of America also organized a congressional call-in campaign for Tuesday.

– Jeffrey Young