This is some very interesting reading . . . right here.
At the end of this very long "he said, she said," my impression is that CNN correctly caught a few minor issues with the data in the film, but that they were, indeed, very minor, and CNN clearly tried to make those minor points into a big deal that would somehow discredit Moore's film.
Moore's position is also understandable.
Having read this it is clear that Moore proved his case, and that CNN greatly exaggerated the concerns they should've had about the film.
Very interesting. I'll look at CNN differently in the future. It may also be the case that no U.S. doctor can be trusted to be truly interested in patients' health, and that most of them, just like CNN's Dr. Gupta, will do anything they can to keep the current system going, while claiming sainthood, like Dr. Gupta, who points out that he is a "practicing physician, serving as a neurosurgeon for the past five years at a large indigent-care hospital."
These doctors are part of the problem with U.S. healthcare and the American Medical Association is one key reason we didn't get universal healthcare sixty years ago.
The stripes don't wash off . . .
6 comments:
What gets me is that M. Moore seems to be in a no win situation. If he would have only used one or two sources for his entire movie he would be critized as not using multiple sources, How ever by using multiple sources he seems to have opened himself up to the opposite attack - using to many sources. One point of CNN's rebut which mad me laugh is their comment about using a 2007 report. Well considering how long it take to make a film like Sicko one must assume that the film was alreasy complete before said report was published Whats the brother to do? But this should be expected to the new CNN which is trying to draw in the right-wing viewers as fast a possible to help with their poor ratings. I mean come on have you ever watched Grace, Beck, etc.
And to answer some question in advance.
1. I have not seem the film
2. I have no feeling one way or another about Moore. I like some of his work and dislike some.
Like you, Peter, I now see CNN in a different light. Moore’s initial attack (“Which pharmaceutical advertisement are you running right after this segment,” (paraphrased) DID focus attention on the very “corporate” nature of our news media. And the initial rebuttal by an insurance-industry spokesperson showed how the debate shapes up for “framing.” The problem, as perceived by insurance and other corporate interests is this:
“We need to find a way to provide INSURANCE to these 43-45 million uninsured individuals.” The debate should be on how to effectively deliver healthcare in an environment that has been shown to be unsustainable, and to include everyone. If insurance/other corporations are permitted to shape the discussion, the solution will rest in finding a way to funnel money from “someplace” into the coffers of insurance corporations. Then they (insurance companies) will be able to deliver inadequate, over-priced, untimely healthcare services to these “newly insured” consumers.
I applaud Moore for bring to public attention the unsustainability of our current “system” and the need not for a bit of “tweaking” but for a radical upheaval. How long does one keep applying band-aids when surgery is the only solution?
--Melody
I have much less of a problem with cnn reporting. The dumping of hospital patients, for example, was first seen by me on cnn (Anderson Cooper 360) and it was aired a number of times. We just must go back and forth on this issue, and we are going in the right direction. Doctors as well as patients have problems. I was motivated to get into this issue by my own miserable experiences in the U.S. with healthcare - until I got on Medicare - as well as complaints from doctors themselves, who said :"they could not longer do this". The sons and daughters of doctors no longer go into Medicine at previous rates; they can do better elsewhere, as the AMA knows very well. The AMA needs to still get fully on the bandwagon. They are already campaigning against another (10%) cut in Medicare reimbursements in 2008. Wholesale change with Medicare as the insurance carrier would be better and the system is already in place and functioning very well. Everyone should be insured under that system, and pay slightly more than we do now for Medicare in payment withholding. Also, ILLEGALS should be taken out of the system. Immigrants already pay Medicare (and other taxes) which should be passed on, NOT BE KEPT BY EMPLOYERS!! We need better healthcare infrastructure, a.o. under Homeland Security. More American students should elect and be admitted to Med Schools. The AMA has kept many Americans out of Med School and we now have a whole army of foreign physicians, a.o. Indians. A previous surge came from Europe. We need Treaties on Medical Care between the U.S. and other nations, similar to the ones on Social Security. It makes NO SENSE that we are paying for the care of, for example, Mexican illegals, and employers as well as the rich Mexican government go scotfree. As soon as the AMA realizes that the cases and healthcare the current insurers will not allow, are the cases they do not get to do - loss of business, and that that, with Medical Malpractice Awards, prevents innovation and physicians applying the new skills they always learn, they will get it that their own wellbeing, ease of practice, and growing businesses for physicians, are also at stake. Let the AMA also look at health statistic and people's hights, a.o., in the socalled *European Welfare States*. As for cnn, I say, let Michael Moore and Lou Dobbs get together on this issue, and/or Anderson Cooper. Lou Dobbs, especially, is a fighter, a populist, and he does understand business, combined with common sense. Lou, come on, get on it and make history!!
Take a doctor to go see Sicko. I did. It was well worth what it cost me. She sat half turned away from the screen, but she did see it, nevertheless. We had a discussion way into the night (we went to the 10:30 show). The groans, sounds, chorus of approval that comes from the audience is enlightening for doctors. They, like all Americans, truly believe, that we have the best healthcare in the U.S. We do not. They can see Sicko and then go on tour themselves in Europe. When I still lived in Amsterdam, we often had Americans staying with us, we did not even know, and doctors, too, can make a vacation out of this and do it on the cheap. Just get together with doctors in foreign countries and arrange it. Just bring a bottle and some flowers to the hostess when you arrive! Do as Moore did and meet the doctors, see how they live, and more especially, how they practice and what freedoms they have, of practicing medicine as it ought to be done, and of lack of heaps of paperwork and regulations. Hey, EVERYONE in Europe speaks and understands American English. No problem there either. And Malpractice? People do this here, because they have an issue with the doctor, not with the outcomes. As soon as the relationship between doctors and patients is a good one, and there is bonding, and especially if a patient knows that the doctor cares and gives good care, Malpractice will be over. So, doctors, how much will you save on that Medical Malpractice Insurance? Awards are not so much a problem, there are very few actual cases and awards, it is the Insurance! Again, as for patients, it is the Insurance, dare I see *stupid* as in it is the economy stupid? And patients, they usually do not get any awards, even if there is an award. The trial lawyer, however, well that is another case. And WHAT, dare I ask, does the trial lawyer contribute to actual medical care? If you are further than an hour away from a trauma center in case of an accident, you may be DOA. We need better infrastructure, for that, and also in case of a national crisis of any kind. We need to pay for this and staff the centers.
I have a "dumping the patient" formal complaint filed against a hospital for dumping my daughter via security guards due to being a psych patient admitted to their medical floor. she has medicaid and regence[shit for insurance btw].
A nurse pulled me aside and told me "this is called dumping a patient".
We have A LOT of problems in the USA--and has anyone noticed the pattern?
MONEY TALKS AND WINS.
Nurses are organizing all over the country because of just such issues, Stephanie. It started with the California Nurses' Association. They are organizing under AFL-CIO and fighting for universal healthcare. I am not a nurse, but I have placed comment on blogs, eight or more hours a day, for a year now, and they found me and sent me info, and that is how I know. They have two websites and you can find that on Michael Moore's website, as well as other useful links.
Post a Comment