Field Reports | SiCKOCure.org

Lifeline

2008-03-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

Remote Area Medical was founded to bring free medicine to remote parts of the world, but now also helps thousands of Americans who have no health insurance or are underinsured. Scott Pelley reports.

Old Testament Managed Care

2007-12-17T08:31:00.000-08:00

Sicko Cure Road Show Puts Health Care in the Spotlight

2007-11-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

Roman Lillie
WCTV
Posted: 6:12 PM Nov 28, 2007

The Sicko Cure Road show was in Tallahassee on Wednesday, telling people about what they say are the benefits of guaranteed health care.

The Road Show is traveling across the country to try and pass a bill that would provide free health care for every American. With more than forty-six million Americans without health insurance many people are hoping for a change.

And some who have insurance worry that premiums are getting higher.

Jimmy Harris, a resident of Quincy says, “I kind of feel like they’re a little higher than what I’d like to pay. I can manage but it takes a little better planning.”

Rabbi Jack Romberg adds, “Is it just that middle class families that only ten years ago or eight years ago could easily afford health insurance, struggle to insure themselves and their children. Not only is that not just, it is immoral.”

One doctor worries that with our current health care system, doctors are sometimes too preoccupied to give patients the care they deserve.

Byron Tucker, MD warns, “The financing issues and trying to figure out what the patient can or can not afford. They don’t spend time directly dealing with medical problems.”

Participants at the Sicko Cure Road Show believe they have the solution. They’re backing Congressional bill HR 676. Under that bill, government sponsored health care would be available to everyone.

Barbara DeVane of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans says the plan would be an extension of Medicare. “This would extend Medicare to everyone now; you don’t get Medicare until you turn 65. With H-R- 676, you would get health care from the womb to the tomb”

Organizers met with Congressman Allen Boyd earlier in the day in the hopes of getting support for this bill.

Supporters of government funded health care not that, many European countries already have government funde

Reforming Healthcare

2007-11-30T09:16:00.000-08:00

WALB News
November 29, 2007

Albany - - We all know there's trouble with health care. Skyrocketing costs, insurance companies that deny claims, too many people uninsured. An advocacy group that wants to solve those problems is traveling the country to spread their message. An Albany woman opened the doors to her home to help.

Susie Smith takes her passion to heart.

"Nursing is my calling. I love it dearly."

She's retired now, but she remembers problems in the healthcare system.

"Working in the hospital for so many years you see so many people come in. People with little or no health insurance stay home until they're too sick."

She says it has to stop. So she opened the doors of her home for other healthcare workers, Congressman Sanford Bishop, and the Healthcare Now advocacy group. They watched a Michael Moore movie about America's healthcare system called 'Sicko'.

"Were sick of this system, this system is not making sick people healthy," says Elyse Seigele with Healthcare Now.

She says more than the poor are at risk.

"What this movie does is really show that middle class people are in trouble too and upper middle class people. That no one is safe from the horrors of our healthcare system and the for-profit nature of the insurance companies," Seigele says.

So they're asking Congressman Sanford Bishop to co-sponsor House Resolution 676 to guarantee health insurance to everyone and expand Medicare.

"Anytime there's an issue in the country and people are talking about it that's always a step in the right direction," says Kenneth Cutts of Sanford Bishop's Office.

Smith hopes Congressman Bishop will act when he returns to Washington.

"Now that I can't do physical nursing, this was my next course," she says.

Making sure everyone gets the healthcare they need.

Congressman Bishop previously sponsored the bill, but he hasn't yet signed on to the current version.

Nationwide Sicko-Cure road show makes stop in Valley to tout universal health care

2007-11-29T12:11:00.001-08:00

By Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Donna Smith and her husband, Larry, spent a lifetime building their American dream. As a daily newspaper editor and a machinist, with six grown children and retirement just around the corner, the two Baby Boomers from South Dakota never imagined that within a matter of months they could become bankrupt, homeless and without transportation, all because of unexpected illness.

After all, they both had health insurance through their employers.

“Nobody is talking about what’s happening to the insured, the middle class, in this country,” Donna Smith said. “I decided I would no longer stay neutral on the issue of health care.”

She and other volunteers with Healthcare-NOW traveled to the office of U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth’s, D-Evansville, in Terre Haute on Tuesday as part of the nationwide Sicko-Cure road show in conjunction with representatives of U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich.

The 501c3 organization is touting Conyers’ H.R. Bill 676 as the most viable means of providing universal health-care coverage to all Americans.

The group also promotes the recent film “Sicko” by activist Michael Moore, which investigates the health care/financial industrial complex. Smith and her husband are featured in the film.

“H.R. 676 is the only bill that will make health care right for you,” said Olivia Boykins, special assistant to Conyers.

The bill — which now has 85 co-sponsors in the House — is titled “The United States National Health Insurance Act,” or the “Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act,” and would expand the current Medicare system universally to all American citizens regardless of age or economic status.

The proposal is gaining local supporters as well. Bill Treash of the Wabash Valley Central Labor Committee and Bionca Gambill of the League of Women Voters attended the meeting with Ellsworth’s representatives, hoping to sway his support to the bill.

“I thought it was very good,” Treash said of the meeting afterward. “We jumped on board in 2006.” He added praise for Ellsworth — who is currently in Washington D.C. — and staff in that “we feel truly we have someone we can talk to, and that means a lot, where before the door was shut.”

To meet the financial requirements for including all citizens under the program, the bill asks that payroll taxes be raised 3.3 percent to 4.5 percent, matched both ways by employee and employer. But, as the supporters point out, this would negate the need for third-party payers and most private insurance.

“This is not socialized medicine,” Boykins said. “It’s a single-payer system.”

Boykins argues that payroll tax increase will be more than negated by the savings in health-insurance premiums to industry and employees alike.

The plan also has provisions for increasing Medicare reimbursements to providers and shoring up what even Boykins and other supporters acknowledged were logistical problems in the past.

“Who does this not touch?” she asked, citing examples of health-care costs harming automotive giants such as Chrysler and General Motors all the way down to the self-employed.

For the Smith family, the problem was not lack of insurance, it was simply the overwhelming complexity of co-pays, deductibles, prescription costs and out-of-pocket expenses.

When Donna was diagnosed with cancer, those loophole expenses overwhelmed the couple who were already covering her husband’s ongoing heart disease. Soon they were behind on everything from their mortgage to credit cards and their grown children had become cash-strapped from loaning them money. Finally, the Smiths filed for bankruptcy protection, surrendered their home and moved in with one of their daughters.

“It was humiliating,” Donna almost sobbed as she recounted the expressions friends and family gave her when finding out she was bankrupt.

Healthcare-NOW, as part of their Terre Haute stop, offered a screening of “Sicko” later last evening at Indiana State University’s Holmstedt Hall. Their next stop will be this morning in Bloomington with the staff of U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Bloomington.

More information on H.R. 676 is available online at www.healthcare-now.org.

Activists make Merrillville stop to focus attention on health care

2007-11-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

By Christin Nance Lazerus
Post-Tribune staff writer
November 13, 2007

MERRILLVILLE -- Health- care activists are taking their show on the road.

Healthcare-NOW!, a group that advocates a national, guaranteed health care system, launched its "Sicko"-Cure Road Show on Sunday in Chicago.

On Monday, members of the group met with staff from Rep. Peter Visclosky's Merrill-ville office and hosted a free screening of the health-care documentary "Sicko" in Gary.

The month-long tour will continue on through Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Healthcare-NOW! national coordinator Marilyn Clement said the tour's intent is to build support behind House Resolution 676, which establishes a national, single-payer health care system.

"Take the framework of Medicare and make it available to everyone," Clement said.

Clement said 86 U.S. representatives have signed on to co-sponsor the bill; the group hopes to have 100 commitments by the end of the tour.

Visclosky's District Director Mark Lopez said the congressman hasn't committed to the resolution, but he is empathetic to the health-care crisis in America.

Valparaiso resident Steve Skvara joined the group soon after his attention-grabbing appearance at the August Democratic Presidential Debate at Soldier Field. Skvara, a retired steelworker, said he and his wife have had paying for their medical needs.

He planned on joining the tour, but health problems prevented the trip.

"Something has to be done about the health-care situation. Ask anybody on Medicare; they wouldn't trade it for anything," Skvara said.

"Even doctors are on board. My cardiologist told me that he is paying more for billing than for malpractice insurance."

Contact Christin Nance Lazerus at 648-3086 or cnance@post-trib.com

'Sickos' take their show on the road

2007-11-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

Lolis Eric Elie
The Times Picayune
Friday, November 23, 2007

In those months after the levees failed, many of our bodies failed as well.

Diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis that had been tamed by diet, exercise or medication, suddenly got off leash and ran amok. Depression soared as hopes for a quick, safe return home died.

Stranded in Texas or Georgia or Arizona, many of us learned the cold geography of health insurance. Depending on where you were, what kind of coverage you had and what kind of ache pained you, your health insurance might or might not help you get well.

Among the many post-Hurricane Katrina lessons the people of the Gulf Coast can teach the nation, we must be sure to include this one: our country needs health insurance that is portable enough to allow Americans traveling in any of this nation's states or territories to receive quality health care, no nonmedical questions asked.

Shocking movie

That is the sort of medical care that Healthcare-NOW envisions.

That group has helped to organize the Sicko-Cure Road Show to drum up support for a national health insurance program that would provide coverage for all needed medical care without copayments or deductibles.

A key component of the tour is the screening of Michael Moore's documentary, "Sicko," a stark and humorous portrayal of our ailing health care system.

In that film, Americans who are unable to afford health care are cast into bankruptcy and forced to choose which finger to keep and which one to do without. Health insurance professionals tell shocking tales of earning financial bonuses by denying needed health care to patients who are destined to die if they don't receive treatment.

Coming to town

The Sicko-Cure Road Show hits Louisiana starting Saturday.

Supporters are hoping to convince our representatives in Congress to support H.R. 676, a bill before Congress also known as the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All bill. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, is the only Louisiana official listed as a supporter of the bill.

So much of our national mythology is tangled up with the idea that the free market cures all ills that it is difficult to have any serious discussion of other approaches to our most pressing problems.

But we in Louisiana see the deficiencies of free markets in ways we might have been unable to imagine three years ago.

If ever there was a time for us to help lead our nation into a radical new direction, this is it.

The SICKO-Cure Road Show will begin with a discussion of the proposed demolition of New Orleans public housing at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Loyola University Law School at 526 Pine St. "Sicko" will be screened for free at 7 p.m. at the Ashé Cultural Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. Sunday, the road show travels to Baton Rouge before returning to the Lower 9th Ward Health Clinic on Monday.

For more information, call (504) 827-5858, or visit www.zeitgeistinc.net or http://www.healthcare-now.org.

. . . . . . .

Lolis Eric Elie can be reached at lelie@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3330.

Group urges Cramer to sponsor health bill

2007-11-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

By STEVE DOYLE
Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Demonstrators push for national insurance act

Sign-waving demonstrators who want Congress to pass a universal health insurance bill rallied Tuesday outside U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer's Huntsville office.

Reese Danley-Kilgo, one of the organizers, said the group is asking Cramer, a Democrat, to co-sponsor the "United States National Health Insurance Act." It would create a publicly financed, privately delivered health care system to cover necessary medical care for every American, without co-payments or deductibles.

"It would leave out insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations and just be an arrangement between the people who need health care and all the rest of us in the country," said Danley-Kilgo, a retired University of Alabama in Huntsville professor.

She and other demonstrators met with Cramer's district director, Jim McCamy, at the National Children's Advocacy Center on Pratt Avenue, where Cramer has an office. They gave McCamy information about the bill, plus a petition signed by about 50 people and a copy of "Sicko," controversial filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary about America's health care system.

McCamy did not immediately return a call from The Times.

"We'll be going back" to Cramer's office, said Danley-Kilgo, a member of the North Alabama Peace Network. "Part of the strategy is letting him know there are people who are very eager to get this bill co-sponsored and passed. It's long, long overdue."

Myth buster

2007-11-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Indira Dammu
Indiana Daily Student
Date: 11/14/2007

Repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it, or so the saying goes. No group is more guilty of this charge than conservatives.

Whether declaring global warming a “hoax” or bemoaning the social security “crisis,” conservatives have the art of lying down to a science. This is especially evident in matters related to health care reform, which conservatives reserve a special disdain for. A mere mention of Michael Moore has them frothing at the mouth.

So I was naturally excited to hear that the SiCKO-Cure National Road Show would be stopping in Bloomington today. The Road Show aims to lobby members of congress to support House Resolution 676, a bill that calls for the creation of a single-payer health care plan. On this occasion, I decided to bust some common myths offered in defense of our broken system.

Myth: The United States has the best health care system in the world.

Wrong. In spite of spending more per capita on health care than other countries, the U.S. ranks only 37th in the overall quality of health care. We also boast the second-worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world.

Myth: People without health insurance are lazy good-for-nothings.

Again, wrong. In 2004, about half of uninsured Americans worked full time. Even more surprising, 28 percent of middle and upper-middle class individuals are uninsured.

Myth: We can’t trust the government with such an important issue like health care.

It is my contention that apart from hating kids, another reason why Republicans strongly opposed the SCHIP bill is that it demonstrates to the public how efficient the government can be. Historically, programs like Medicaid, Social Security and public broadcasting have been extremely successful and calls for reform have been met with derision. Remember the public furor when President Bush tried to privatize social security in 2005? As long as government agencies are adequately staffed and funded (unlike the DMV), we can trust a government-run health care system to run smoothly.

Myth: There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Actually, this is right. Contrary to Republican claims, however, no Democratic presidential candidate has advocated a “free” universal health care system. Sen. John Edward’s health care plan, the most promising within the field, calls for a small tax increase and repeal of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy. Sixty percent of Americans support such a tax increase if it means universal access to health care.

It is evident by now that the numbers are on my side. Yet, Republicans are able to distort facts and resort to cheap shots. Case in point – Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, in a display of sheer stupidity, coined a nifty acronym for the SCHIP plan – “Socialized Clinton-style Hillarycare for Illegals and their Parents.” While it is easy to get discouraged by such a classic case of Republican wingnuttery, now isn’t the time to give up. Call your congressmen and ask him or her to support H.R. 676. Educate those around you about a universal health care plan. Republicans have monopolized the discussion for too long.

Activists make Merrillville stop to focus attention on health care

2007-11-14T08:57:00.001-08:00

"Speechless" ads from Iowa

2007-08-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Click here for Press Release.

Ask me about single payer guaranteed health care for everyone!

U.S. Health-care system

2007-07-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Kansas City Star
Letters
7/22/07

Love him or hate him, Michael Moore’s films always generate lively discussion. His latest about health care in America (or the lack of it) seems to be resonating with more people than usual and in a mostly one-sided way. If the straw poll as indicated by The Star’s letters page is any indication, a critical mass may be building for radical reform of our health-care system.

Tens of millions of voting, campaign-contributing, aging and ailing baby boomers are beginning to have their first serious encounters with the health-care system, and for many it’s been a revelation. Our insurers are dictating our health-care choices. In some tragic cases, life-saving therapies are denied altogether. The uninsured or underinsured get little or nothing and often are faced with financial ruin.

For 50 years, the for-profit sector has used the specter of socialized medicine to frighten us into complacency. “Do you want a bureaucrat making your medical decisions for you?” I look at Social Security and Medicare and see well-run, efficient service providers.

So if I have to choose between that bureaucrat with a mandate from the voters and an insurance executive with a mandate from his stockholders, I’ll take the public servant every time!

Mark Hastert
Kansas City

Michael Moore at Chicago Rally

2007-07-19T10:48:00.001-07:00

Michael Moore speaks at the "Sicko" rally for National Health Care in Chicago, June 23, 2007 courtesy of Labor Beat

Six Ways to Fix America's Health Care System

2007-07-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

Michael Moore's new movie Sicko hit me hard. I found heartbreaking the unnecessary suffering our heath care system causes so many Americans. But I also felt this powerful film could change public opinion about U.S. health care the way An Inconvenient Truth changed the public view on global warming.

Real change, however, doesn't come just from watching a film. It will happen only if a great many ordinary citizens seize the moment. Here are six suggestions for how you can stir the public dialogue and help get our lawmakers to fix the U.S. health care system.

See Sicko. No matter how you feel about Michael Moore, bring friends and encourage everyone you know to see this film. See the film in your local theater or contact Sicko producers to show it in your church, union, workplace, or community group.

Talk with others. Share your own health care experiences and ask your friends about theirs. Most of us know someone who's had problems with the health care system. Learn about others' experience and use those stories to push for change.

Learn the facts so you can counter arguments against changing the system. Did you know that the U.S. is the only major industrialized country without universal health care coverage? Do you know how we compare to other countries on costs and outcomes? Here are some important facts.

Choose a solution. Moore has a three-point proposal for fixing the U.S. healthcare system:

i) Provide free health care to all U.S. residents;

ii) Abolish the health insurance companies;

iii) Regulate the pharmaceuticals industry.

As an immediate step, he supports HR 676, a bill in the House of Representatives that would extend Medicare to everyone. Those are his views. What are yours? You may find helpful a chart we prepared at YES! that compares eight coverage models. We also outlined basic principles that should underlie a good health care system, and compared the U.S. with Canada. See more YES! health care articles.

Let your views be known. Tell your lawmakers in simple, heartfelt language what you think. Your voice gives your representatives cover to fight the lobbyists and do what's right. Don't forget your state legislators--there are many state initiatives pending. You can find state initiatives at the Physicians for a National Health Program. Write letters to your newspaper and call in to radio talk shows. Making your views public gives others courage to speak out.

Forward this email and invite friends and colleagues to discuss it with you. With elections on the horizon and discontent about the U.S. health care system running deep, we have a special window of opportunity to improve the system. You can be part of it.

Thanks for reading this. Together, we can bring the U.S. into the 21st century with a responsible and inclusive health care system.

Fran Korten
Publisher, YES! Magazine

Reports from around the country, 07-16-07

2007-07-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

I was happy to see that the showing in Mobile was not only crowded but people were actually cheering during the show. I took the opprotunity to talk with some of the patrons afterward to let them know about PNHP and that some other large physician organizations (e.g. ACP) advocated a change. I encouraged them to talk with friends write letters and see what their
doctors think. I doubt that many MD's are aware of the puplics discontent with our current health care system.

I thought that the movie was more of a polemic than a documentary but well done and probably more effective than a true documentary.

Tom Kessler

I am pleased to report that we have already given away about 1,500 of our PNHP/SickoCure flyers -- about 1,000 of them on the "SiCKO!" opening day, when every showing was covered by teams of people thanks to Troy Area Labor Council leader Mike Keenan. There are 8 films being shown in the theater -- I was there tonight when the 3:50 showing let out -- most people were reaching for their leaflets (obtained on the way in) and reading them. I learned from the folks who handed those leaflets out that their supply went very fast. We learned (from Mike) that people seeing all films are friendly (they will have noted the other films playing at the theater). Importantly, our "SickoCure" slide runs before EVERY movie now playing.

Personally I was delighted with the response to the people I met. One man was almost angry with me when he saw my PNHP t-shirt -- "why haven't I learned about your group sooner, -- don't you have a PR person?!" (Where have you been all my life?!... Problems like these we can handle!)

Andy

A group of progressives in the Corpus Christi area met to watch Sicko in our local theatre last Sunday. We were all entertained and blown away by the movie. A group of 10 of us met afterwards to discuss how we could promote Universal Health Care legislation in the area and we have a letter writing campaign in place to encourage our local congressman, Solomon Ortiz Sr, to sign on to HR676. We also are encouraging progressives to download info from the sickocure website to disperse to medical offices, churches and schools and I have written a letter to the editor for my local newspaper and a short editorial to be included in the next Texas Democratic Women local newsletter. Thanks for organizing such a helpful website through PNHP.

Sincerely,

Lorraine Stehn,DO

There's a message in Moore's film

2007-07-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Sir:

Both Michel Moore and his new film, ‘Sicko’, are controversial. And that’s too bad. Too many people will stop at the controversy, never hear the message.

One thing to keep in mind. The Americans that Moore talks about most aren’t the 45 million uninsured. He’s chiefy talking about people who have health insurance, but whose insurance let them down. The political debates today concentrate on people without insurance. The real problems are with middle-income people who struggle with co-payments, deductibles, exclusions, shared premium costs and so on for insurance coverage that, too often, proves to be tissue-paper thin. The silent issue today is that many middle-income people are worried. Worried whether they could afford a major illness, even with their insurance. Too often they have a right to be worried.

Sincerely,

J. Walden Retan, M.D.
State coordinator, Alabama chapter Physicians for a National Health Program
Mountain Brook, AL

BlueCross Secret Memo Re: 'Sicko' ... "You would have to be dead to be unaffected by Moore's movie..."

2007-07-09T11:43:00.001-07:00

[The following memo was written by Barclay Fitzpatrick, VP of Corporate Communications for Capital BlueCross]

I was able to see Sicko last night in Lancaster. There were about 30 other viewers in the theatre covering all age groups. I have attached the well-written memo from one of our partners, which describes cases used in the movie, to the end of my memo. Also attached are the latest talking points from BCBSA. I will focus on impact to our brands, issues, and suggested strategies in this memo.

The Movie
You would have to be dead to be unaffected by Moore's movie, he is an effective storyteller. In Sicko Moore presents a collage of injustices by selecting stories, no matter how exceptional to the norm, that present the health insurance industry as a set of organizations and people dedicated to denying claims in the name of profit. Denial for treatments that are considered "experimental" is a common story, along with denial for previous conditions, and denial for application errors or omissions. Individual employees from Humana and other insurers are interviewed who claim to have actively pursued claim denial as an institutionalized goal in the name of profit.

While Humana and Kaiser Permanente are demonized, the BlueCross and BlueShield brands appear, separately and together, visually and verbally, with such frequency that there should be no doubt that whatever visceral reaction his movie stirs will spill over onto the Blues brands in every market. Here are some examples:

* Horizon BlueCross/BlueShield is picked out early in the film in a collage of stories citing bad treatment of members.
* BCBSA is cited for rejecting a woman for coverage due to a high BMI - "too fat" is written across the screen over a copy of her application denial letter, which describes the BMI rejection.
* BlueShield of California denied coverage for a diagnostic test, which the patient later received overseas. Patient sues BS of CA and medical director admits to not 'seeing' the actual denial letter, which was given an electronic signature.
* BlueCross of California denied payment for a major surgery after they discovered a previous yeast infection, then dropped the person for coverage. This is followed by an interview with a person who claims to have been a specialist at finding inaccuracies in applications to enable post-treatment payment denials.
* A BCBSA card is shown while the narrator describes how they (insurers) got wealthy.

In typical Moore fashion, Government and business leaders are behind a conspiracy to keep the little guy down and dominated while getting rich. Nixon Oval Office tapes are used to show how the initial idea of a 'less care = profit' enterprise was supported by the administration and became the HMO paradigm. Legislators are presented as bought stooges for the political agendas of insurers and big Pharma. Insurers are middlemen in the Medicare Modernization Act - which is presented as a trick to charge seniors more for their prescription drugs.

Doctors are barely touched - only in the course of discussing the AMA's work to sink early efforts in the 40's and 50's to start universal health care. He takes efforts to show that doctors live well in other countries despite the existence of universal health care. In follow-up interviews, Moore has stated that he has spoken to and knows many doctors, and "doctors aren't the problem".

In the second half of the movie, Moore walks us through individual stories of the Canadian, British, French, and Cuban health care systems where everything is free and - he reminds us repeatedly - no one is ever denied service because they can't pay. In addition to health care, the government provides free day care, college, and someone to do your laundry. Everybody gets along and takes care of each other and life is beautiful because there is universal health care. As a viewer, you are made to feel ashamed to be an American, a capitalist, and part of a 'me' society instead of a 'we' society - and the lack of universal health care is held up in support of that condemnation.

The Impact
Moore's movies are intentionally intense and his objective in Sicko seems to be to revive the earlier Clinton efforts - not to achieve universal coverage with this movie, but to push the topic to the top of the agenda. He will be just as successful whether proponents mount momentum or discussion entails key stakeholders defending why it won't work.

As a health care industry educated viewer it is easy to pick out where Moore is cultivating misperceptions to further a political agenda, but you will also recognize that 80%+ of the audience will have their perceptions substantially affected. In demonstration of its impact, an informal discussion group ensued outside the theatre after the movie. While some people recognized how one-sided the presentation was, most were incredulous and "I didn't know they (the insurers) did that!" was a common exclamation followed by a discussion of the example.

The unfortunate reality for Capital BlueCross is that as the market leader, we will be affected both in brand and as employees as Moore's efforts in the movie and surrounding PR activity are seen by more of the community. The impact on industry savvy Sales' contacts should be minimal, while the impact on small business decision makers, our members, the community, and our employees could be significant. Ignoring its impact might be a successful strategy only if it flops, but that has not been the history of Moore's films nor the way this one appears to be headed. If popular, the movie will have a negative impact on our image in this community.

There should be no doubt that many of our employees will be asked what they think of the movie by friends, family, and neighbors. We should anticipate that our customer service people will be asked about particular cases from the movie and if we follow similar policies. Word and phrases we have routinely used to date in policy change communications or denial letters, such as "Investigational", will be seen as affirming the film's contentions. The national BCBSA response - while coming out against the film's divisiveness and focusing on the positive work of the Blues - steers media inquiries about policies and denials back to the plans themselves.

There are 4 key areas of misperception cultivated by the movie that we should consider in any messaging strategy:

1. That the industry is all about HMO's. Moore cultivates this further in his interviews. The reality is that HMO's are a minority product and have been for some time.
2. The movie attacks insurers for a profit motive, but makes no distinction among for-profit and non-profit insurers, and in its execution places the Blue Plans together with the for-profit insurers.
3. All plans and employees - from leaders to service representatives - are painted as motivated by profit to deny claims, and only those with crisis of conscience have come forward to confess their sins.
4. Perhaps most damaging of all, Moore completely fails to address the most significant driver of health care costs - our own lifestyle choices - and seeks to focus attention and efforts on the alluring 'quick-fix' of universal health care. It has taken a generation of poor nutrition and exercise to get obesity and related health issues - and subsequent costs - to their current levels, and Moore's movie fails to acknowledge the causal relationship or need to change (he briefly touches the subject in a non-memorable way). Contrast this to the recent Health Care Symposium held in Harrisburg - where a panel of representatives from Government, Insurance, Hospitals, Business, Physicians, and even Lawyers agreed on one thing - that there was no quick fix and that Health and Wellness was the critical area of focus.

Suggestions
I believe the most successful strategy will not be in attacking the movie for its weaknesses or misperceptions, but in distancing ourselves and our brand from the groups and motivations he attacks, demonstrating the good that we do and achieve (aligns with BCBSA strategy), and in articulating our disappointment that he did not address the truly relevant issue of improving our health and wellness. We will convene a team to consider other approaches and work on potential messages for media inquiries, customer service, and employees.

Confidential Memo (from partner)

SiCKO - viewed on 6/26/2007

Takeaways

* The main theme of the movie is that American society needs to focus on the "we" and not the "me" in healthcare.

o This broad message is an overlay for the specific criticisms of the healthcare industry - the movie asks where the morality of the American public lies and contrasts America's approach to health care unfavorably with other nations.

* SiCKO does not go into any depth about how health insurers operate how the health insurance business works - instead it fixates on what it characterizes as the profit incentive to deny care to patients (e.g. examples of barriers to getting health insurance if you are not healthy; examples of people being denied expensive tests or procedures; examples of efforts to deny reimbursement after care has been received.)

* The film draws no distinction between not-for-profit and for-profit insurers - in fact the Blue Cross/Blue Shield brand is intermixed with the for - profit brands as background reference points. o One scene shows a Blue Cross / Blue Shield logo as Michael Moore's voice over begins, "While the healthcare companies get wealthy..."

* The health insurers that get the most airtime are:

o Kaiser Permanente
o Humana
o CIGNA
o Blue Cross of California
o Aetna

* No Pharma companies are mentioned - but SiCKO suggests in multiple instances that prescription drugs are overpriced

o At a pharmacy in London, prescription drugs are £6.65, no matter how large the dose
o In Cuba, one bankrupt 9/11 worker's inhaler costs 5 cents, instead of $100

Further Notes

* Some of the examples of denial of care highlighted in the film:

o A woman with Kaiser Permanente takes her 18-month daughter to the hospital in an ambulance, only to be told to go to an in-network hospital. By the time they reach the second hospital, her daughter has stopped breathing and dies 30 minutes later in ER.

o A woman with Blue Shield of California has a tumor but is denied requests to get an MRI, or to see a specialist. While on vacation in Japan she is given an MRI, and eventually returns to the U.S. to demand treatment from her insurer.

* In the ensuing court case, a doctor admits to denying her request without having reviewed it.

o Blue Cross of California approves one woman's $7,500 treatment, but the approval is later denied for her failure to report a previous medical incident - a yeast infection.

* "They're just looking for a way out," she says

* Other examples of how health insurers avoid paying for treatment:

o One graph (from Humana) shows that doctors with the highest % of denials get a bonus.

o Michael Moore interviews a former health insurance employee who specialized in denying care to patients retroactively - by finding inconsistencies in their medical records.

o A 5-minute piece in the beginning of the movie .

* The film also focuses on the politicians and the funds they raise from Pharma and other player in the health care industry and alleges that the system has been heavily influenced by lobbyists and contributions.

Barclay Fitzpatrick
Vice President
Corporate Communications
Capital BlueCross
(w) 717-541-7752
(c) 717-329-3648
barclay.fitzpatrick@capbluecross.com

MichaelMooreTalkingPoints61807.doc

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
Talking Points in Response to Michael Moore's "Sicko"
June 2007

1) The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and the 39 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are committed to improving the U.S. healthcare system for our nearly 100 million members through continuous innovation that reflects the ever-changing healthcare landscape and the needs of the consumer.

2) The Blues recognize the need for improvement of both the coverage and delivery of healthcare. But the divisive tone set forth by Michael Moore and his movie "Sicko" is not helpful. Positive change to our healthcare system can be best achieved through shared responsibility, not recrimination. To ensure Americans have access to the best healthcare that is both timely, efficient, and of high quality, requires the collective contribution of all stakeholders -- consumers, providers, employers and the government.

3) The Blues participation in the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured is a primary example of how the broader healthcare community is working together to reduce the number of uninsured in the United States.

4) The Blues are working on myriad initiatives that ensure Americans have access to quality and affordable healthcare. Each day, Blue Plans across the country are bringing healthcare value to their members in a number of ways such as new advances in health information technology and greater access to cost and quality information. In addition:

o The Blues recently created Blue Health Intelligence a data resource that will shine light on emerging medical trends and treatment options in an unprecedented way. To further the use of evidenced-based medicine, BCBSA has called upon Congress to establish an independent, payer-funded institute that will study the comparative effectiveness of new and existing medical treatments and procedures.

o Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are at the forefront of healthcare transparency by providing their members with online access to real-time information related to provider quality and the cost of common healthcare services. In addition, the Blues have committed to making personal health records available to their members by 2008.

o We are working to ensure that Medicare is funded appropriately and that seniors continue to have access to comprehensive benefits.

5) The Blues are proud of these efforts and we will continue to work with consumers, providers, employers and the government to provide Americans with the healthcare services and information they need to lead full, healthy lives.

Reports from around the country, 7-06-07

2007-07-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

We've given out thousands of leaflets at nearly every showing of Sicko at one of the 2 local theaters PNHP, the community coalition for health reform, labor, Working Families Party, peace activists and Catholic Worker people have all participated. The response has been incredibly friendly.

Andrew Coates, MD
Albany, NY

I saw the movie and passed out flyers. I was talking with one gentlemen after the show who was so confused. He couldn't get his head around what he had just seen. It went against everything he believed. He seemed to be in shock. Actually was scratching his head with confusion. After talking awhile he left after saying this last comment, "I guess if even 20% of the show was true we have some pretty serious work to do." One convert at a time.

Karen E., MD
Bethesda

I handed out flyers at the sneak preview of Sicko. I wore my white coat. Some folks asked if I was for or against the film when they saw me in my white coat. Some folks thought it was a promotion for the film but most people were very receptive to receiving information about PNHP. The audience was enthusiastic about the film. I think this film provides us with an excellent opportunity to get out our message.

Elizabeth R. Rosenthal, MD
Pleasantville, NY

The "Sicko" Case for Single Payer

2007-07-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

David Gratzer, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of The Cure: How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care, and Dr. Oliver Fein, chair of the New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, debate the pros and cons of a single payer health care system.

Universal Healthcare: the Jihadists' Secret Weapon

2007-07-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

You know we must be winning when this is the oppositions response.

Reports from around the country, 7-05-07

2007-07-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

I am writing to you to simply say thank you for working toward National Health. My daughter is starting medical school after getting a Masters in Public Health and fighting cancer herself. She is going into debt in order to be part of the fight for healthcare as a human right - so I thank you for what you do. It really matters!

Best,
Joan Huenemann Michie
Pelham, NY

I am a community psychiatrist in Bethesda, Maryland; I saw “Sicko” on Sunday. I cried, I laughed, mostly I felt ashamed of our country. Yeah, it was a polemic, with a point of view, and not a documentary; that makes what Michael Moore said no less true, even if it is not the whole truth. I don’t hate Kaiser or Blue Cross: some very fine docs work there. I hate the sheer greed that drives our very sick system.

Yours,
M. Claytor, M.D.

Tom Tomorrow on Health Care Reform

2007-07-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

A great cartoon by Tom Tomorrow.

Reports from around the country, 6-27-07

2007-06-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

I believe more than ever that this film will definitely open the blind eyes and clear the deaf ears of politicians and those who elect them. We need HR-676 passed whether an election is in the offing or not. Such as now!
Marcosa J. Santiago, M.D., NH

Moore's NY Premier was tonight, and it was great! There were lots of nurses outside, with chants and red t-shirts. We had a bunch of PNHPers (mostly docs) outside with our banners ("Health Care is a Human Right" and "Get the health Insurance Companies Out of Our Health Care")
Joanne Landy, NY

The Chicago events around Sicko proved the enormous capacity this film has to energize the commitment to single payer. I believe strongly that we have moved to a higher plane in the public discourse and we must now act expeditiously to take advantage of this opportunity.
Quentin Young M.D., IL