Update: http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/23/the_fear_of_sicko_cigna_whistleblower
On Nov 27, 1:02 am, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: > The health care industry's vendetta against Michael Moore > > By Amy Goodman > > Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, makes great > movies, but they are not generally considered "cliffhangers." All that > might change, since revelations made by a whistleblower on "Democracy > Now!" news hour that health insurance executives thought they may have > to implement a plan "to push Moore off a cliff." > > The whistleblower: Wendell Potter, the former chief spokesman for > health insurance giant CIGNA. He was quoting from an industry strategy > session on how to respond to Moore's 2007 documentary, "Sicko," a film > critical of the U.S. health insurance industry. Potter told me that he > is not sure how serious the threat was, but he added, ominously, > "These companies play to win." > > Moore won an Oscar in 2003 for his film about gun violence, "Bowling > for Columbine." He followed this with "Fahrenheit 9-11," a documentary > on the presidency of George W. Bush, which became the top-grossing > documentary film in U.S. history. So when Moore told a reporter that > his next film would be about the U.S. health care system, the > insurance industry took notice. > > AHIP -- America's Health Insurance Plans -- the major lobbying group > for the for-profit health insurance corporations, secretly sent > someone to the world premiere of "Sicko" at the Cannes Film Festival > in France. Its agent rushed from the screening to a conference call > with industry executives, including Potter. "We were very scared," > Potter said, "and we knew that we would have to develop a very > sophisticated and expensive campaign to turn people away from the idea > of universal care. ... We were told by our pollsters (that) a majority > of people were in favor of much greater government involvement in our > health care system." > > AHIP hired a public relations firm, APCO Worldwide, founded by the > powerful law firm Arnold & Porter, to coordinate the response. APCO > formed the fake grassroots consumer group "Health Care America" to > counter the expected popularity of Moore's "Sicko" and to promote fear > of "government-run health care." > > Potter writes in his new book, "Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company > Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and > Deceiving Americans," that he: "found the film very moving and very > effective in its condemnation of the practices of private health > insurance companies. There were many times when I had to fight to hold > back tears. Moore had gotten it right." > > The insurance industry declared its campaign against "Sicko" a > resounding success. Potter wrote, "AHIP and APCO Worldwide had > succeeded in getting their talking points into most of the stories > about the movie, and not a single reporter had done enough > investigative work to find out that insurers had provided the lion's > share of funding to set up Health Care America." Indeed, everyone from > CNN to USA Today cited Health Care America as if it were a legitimate > group. > > Moore concedes, "Their smear campaign was effective and did create the > dent they were hoping for -- single payer and the public option never > even made it into the real discussion on the floor of Congress." > > Moore has called Potter the "Daniel Ellsberg of corporate America," > invoking the famous Pentagon whistleblower whose revelations helped > end the Vietnam War. Potter's courageous stand made an impact on the > debate, but the insurance industry, the hospitals and the American > Medical Association prevailed in blunting the elements of the plan > that threatened their profits. > > A recent Harvard Medical School study found that nearly 45,000 > Americans die each year -- one every 12 minutes -- largely because > they lack health insurance. But for the insurance lobby, the only > tragedy is the prospect of true health care reform. In 2009, the > nation's largest health insurance corporations funneled more than $86 > million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to oppose reform. This year, > the nation's five largest insurers contributed three times as much > money to Republican candidates as to Democrats, in an effort to > further roll back insurance industry reform. > > Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., an advocate of single-payer health care, > declared in Congress that "the Republican Party is a wholly owned > subsidiary of the insurance industry." Potter agrees, saying the > Republican Party has "been almost bought and paid for." > > The health insurance industry is getting its money's worth. Moore said > that the industry was willing to attack his film because they were > afraid it "could trigger a populist uprising against a sick system > that will allow companies to profit off of us when we fall ill." > > Now that is truly sick. > > Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily international TV/ > radio news hour. Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column. > > From:http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/11/the_health_care_i...
