Singing Public Option Protesters Punk Health Insurance Lobbyists

At the final day of a conference by health insurance lobby group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a group of protesters set themselves apart from the usual tree-chaining, offensive-sign-carrying, poorly thought-out chanting that we’re all used to by combining political protest, musical theater, and flash mob spontaneity. The result was a protest that the lobbyists, including “Harry and Louise” creator Bill McInturff, didn’t know what to make of right away.

The group, Billionaires for Wealthcare, stage counter-protests-as-performance art. I caught their first protest in April at the DC Tax Day Tea Party, where they appeared in character as billionaires to “thank” the protesters for protecting their wealth. They were also featured on the Rachel Maddow Show for their appearance at the DC 9/12 protest.

In this case, they appeared as health care lobbyists, and feigned dismay at the possibility of a public option, supported overwhelmingly by Americans, eating into their profits.

I contacted the group’s lead singer, classical musician Melissa Collom, to find out more about the protest:

Tommy Christopher: Can you tell me what the reactions from the crowd were like?

Melissa Collom: People were surprised and laughed in that nervous “I don’t know what’s going on here!” way. Even the speaker himself chuckled as he stepped aside from the podium. It was really clear that we were a protest group (especially to the security staff who swarmed us almost instantly) but everyone knows (and most people love) that song from Annie. Many people laughed at the industry punchlines scattered throughout the text. My personal goal was for us to give a performance that the crowd would enjoy in spite of themselves – and to a certain degree I think we did.

TC: I was really impressed with the production values here. How many cameras did you have there? How did you get such good sound?

MC: The technical end of this was highly choreographed since we knew we would want to make a video of the event. There was one camera for each singer and one or two more dedicated to taking people’s reactions in the room. We had planned where each camera would be in relation to the singers and had an idea of what our movement through the room would be – but we also knew that interacting with the staff / security would be a big wildcard. Each singer also had a body mic that went to a digital recording device. So in the end we had a lot of sound and video footage which we boiled down into the final youtube clip.

TC: How did they treat you after they escorted you out?

MC: Once we exited the ballroom we just kept walking and never looked back. Apparently some people toward the rear of the group were escorted out a little more forcefully than they would have liked but we didn’t give them a chance to stop us once we finished the song.

TC: How’s your health insurance?

MC: It can be pretty touch and go. When I’m not working as a musician, I will pick up a day job with benefits and then COBRA off of that for as long as I can (or can afford) when I go back to performing. I have also been covered in the past through my performer’s union (American Guild of Musical Artists). The enormous expense of coverage as a freelancer, by any of these options, is one of the most difficult aspects of supporting oneself as an artist. By the way, while I am a professional musician, I am a volunteer with the Billionaires for Wealthcare and was not paid for my performance today. Just wanted to – literally – lend my voice to the cause!

TC: How did you get in?

MC: We’ll never tell!

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