Former President Bush’s brother collapses at Wellpoint meeting

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The WellPoint shareholders meeting in downtown Indianapolis ended much earlier than some disgruntled shareholders would have liked when 71-year-old William H.T. Bush, brother of the first President Bush, collapsed.

For the fourth year in a row, in the shadow of WellPoint corporate headquarters in downtown Indianapolis, on the day of the annual shareholders meeting, there was a rally for universal healthcare.

Many of those at the rally are WellPoint shareholders themselves who attended the stockholders meeting.

"The meeting was actually quite contentious. It was different from any of the meetings I've been to before," said Dr. Rob Stone, a Bloomington emergency room physician.

He had a proposal on the agenda of the WellPoint shareholders meeting that WellPoint fund a feasibility study about making the company non profit.

"I think investors are seeing that the business model of the private, for-profit health insurance industry doesn't work anymore," said Stone.

Shareholders at the rally say there were other so-called "hostile" proposals at the annual meeting and people were speaking out. But then everything changed.

Edith Kenna was there when it happened.

"There were six or seven lined up and all of a sudden, Angela Braly adjourned the meeting and everyone had to get out," she said.

Cindy Calley is another shareholder who was at the stockholders meeting.

“They told us nothing. They just said meeting adjourned we've had a medical emergency. And we could see it was Mr. Bush," said Calley.

Dr. Stone tried to help.

"I just saw someone was down and then they said it was Mr. Bush and I just went up there to be available but he was actually starting to wake up when I got there," said Dr. Stone.

The collapse of William Bush, who is on the board of directors of WellPoint, sent the unhappy shareholders out to the rally sooner than expected.

Cindy Calley said, "They needed to take care of Mr. Bush first, but they could have continued the meeting."

But she said they never did.

WellPoint would not give 24-Hour News 8 a comment about what happened.

William Bush was taken to Methodist Hospital as a precaution and is stable and alert.

Those at the rally say they believe they are making progress with their efforts to change WellPoint. They say they'll be back again next year.