Oprah Winfrey Talks To Michael Moore About Sicko And Health Care Insurance Industry
Submitted by Dan Wilson
Best Syndication
September 27, 2007
Michael Moore visited Oprah Winfrey on Thursday to talk about the health insurance industry. His movie Sicko has stirred a debate, and even Oprah admitted that it opened her eyes to the issue. The movie is a warning to the vast majority of Americans who believe they are protected because they have health insurance. The movie does not concern the 50 million without coverage.
Oprah asked a question that she wanted everyone to answer. She asked “Should the son of a gas station attendant have the same health coverage as the son of a CEO?” She told her audience “You need to see this movie”! When she saw the film, it completely changed the way she looked at health care.
Following Michael Moore’s last appearance, the Oprah show was inundated with thousands of emails. One caller said “while I am searching for affordable health care, my daughter may die.”
A pivotal moment in the health care debate came a few weeks ago during the Democratic Presidential debate in Chicago. Retired steel worker, Steve Skvara, asked “After 34 years with LTV steel I was forced to retire because of a disability. Two years later LTV filed bankruptcy. I lost a third of my pension and my family lost their healthcare… what is wrong with America and what will you do to change it.” Oprah had Scuvara on the set Thursday.
One of the problems Oprah brought up involved a bone marrow transplant. Stewart Eastham, a 25 year old worker in the oil and gas industry, was told by the hospital that he must bring $250,000 cash for a life saving treatment. Stewart’s insurance would only cover $150,000 of the procedure, and he needed to pay the additional $250,000.
The delay in his treatment caused Stewart to go blind in one eye. Lisa Ling decided to call his insurance company to find out what had happened with Stewarts case. She wanted to talk to the CEO of Blue Cross / Blue Shield about his case.
Civia Katz is a working mother of three. She needed a special surgery, and later her insurance company refused to pay for anything. Lisa also decided to call Civia’s insurance company.
Michele Marron was attacked by an auto immune disorder. She lost weight and needed to use on oxygen 24 hours a day because the disease had attacked her lungs. Her doctor says a stem cell transplant is the only chance for her to breath on her own. This was deemed an experimental surgery and would not be paid for by insurance. Lisa decided to call her insurance as well.
Out of all three cases, none of the insurance company’s CEOs would speak to Lisa Ling. The media representatives gave her various explanations. Only Civia received any help from her insurance company, Aetna, who said they made a mistake.
A comment came from a former hospital CEO, William Blaine of Minnesota, who said “I retired early because I had Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and could no longer work. Since retiring, my health insurance denied me critical medication and my disability insurance told me that I am no longer disabled.… I face a daily battle with my insurance companies.
“Most people can’t afford to fight these companies. I think we can’t afford not to. If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”
On average, having a brain tumor will cost about $200,000 more in treatment. A stroke will cost $140,000. Leukemia can cost up to $600,000. Oprah asks “would you be covered?”
Michael Moore said that medical obligations are the number one cause of both bankruptcy and homelessness. “It is an absolute outrage,” Moore said. He said people who are sick are sometimes unable to fight the insurance companies.
Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, made an attempt to defend the insurance companies and said that Michael Moore is right, and American needs health insurance for everyone. She represents a health insurance lobbying group.
Michael Moore doesn’t agree with that. Moore says the insurance companies are the problem. Insurance companies deny claims, cancel policies and eliminate people with pre-existing conditions. Both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are calling for “Universal Coverage” which would force people to buy health insurance. This could actually exacerbate the problem.
But what about experimental procedures? “The National Institute of Health (NIH) should cover that as part of their research, said Professor Uwe Reinhardt of Princeton.
Reinhardt came up with the fundamental question for Oprah’s show, “Sick in America”. He asked “Should health care be more like elementary and secondary education, where every American simply has a right to it. Or do you want to treat it like a luxury like fine dining, where if you have the money you get it but if you don’t you won’t.”
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