State leaders pass on Moore's 'Sicko' prescription for health care system
Correction: Orem Republican Rep. Bradley Daw compared filmmaker Michael Moore to Joseph Goebbels. The quote was incorrectly attributed to a different lawmaker in Wednesday's Tribune.
Utah Rep. Carl Wimmer skipped Tuesday's free screening of "Sicko," Michael Moore's documentary on the failings of America's health care system.
The Herriman Republican had spent his day drumming up donations for his younger brother, who has no health coverage to pay for expensive cancer treatments.
Though personally touched by the plight of the nation's uninsured and underinsured, Wimmer has "no interest" in the movie, which he doubts will drive reform.
"Michael Moore's movies are full of lies and half-truths and I don't see how this will be any different," said Wimmer. "Until we have a firm grasp on the problem, I don't think anyone will be able to solve it."
The free screening was arranged by physician and attorney Clark Newhall, who had invited more than 100 state leaders. The no-shows included Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., dozens of state lawmakers, the president of the Utah Medical Association, and the CEOs of Intermountain Health Care and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah.
Among the handful who did attend: state insurance commissioner Kent Michie and two lawmakers, Democratic Reps. David Litvack of Salt Lake City and Larry Wiley of West Valley City.The lackluster attendance may seem surprising considering health care - or how to pay for it - is emerging as the top domestic issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. But it signals just how complex and politically polarizing the debate has become.
Charity never faileth
Wimmer believes the government has no business fixing health care. He prefers charitable and free-market solutions. Eric Wimmer, 36, was caught between jobs when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Wimmer said his brother is active and healthy and ''probably thought he could get by without health insurance.''
The lawmaker set to work on his own family remedy: "benching for bucks."
A world-class powerlifter, Wimmer will travel next month to Elko, Nev., to compete in a national tournament. Prior to the August 11 event, he's soliciting donations for his brother's chemotherapy; a dollar or penny for every pound he lifts.
"I'm really hoping to hit 550 lbs. or more," said Wimmer. "Eric has two small children who need him to survive. When I lift in August all I will be thinking about is them."
Doctors at the Huntsman Cancer Institute agreed to treat Eric, though he has no ability to pay, said Wimmer. "But our family has a deep sense of responsibility, so we're all pulling together to pay his debts."
Wimmer acknowledges that most other sick or injured uninsured Utahns "can't get the press that I can," but insists: "Charity never faileth. It's the way to handle most of these uninsured situations."
'You're not a bad person'
Another uninsured Utahn who is fighting cancer and relying on charity is Phillip Arena, who raises money for the homeless at the Salt Lake Rescue Mission.
In 2002, as Utah's economy rode a high from the Winter Olympics, the mission was struggling to feed the city's swelling homeless population. Staff members agreed to cuts in pay and to an end to health benefits.
As the charity's finances improved, Arena started shopping for catastrophic health coverage - but too late.
At a routine visit to the doctor, he learned cancerous tumors were the source of pain and stiffness in his jaw. His prognosis is good - but his surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy are estimated to exceed $300,000.
Well-wishers are contributing to a fund that colleagues established. And the Huntsman Cancer Institute has agreed to match all donations dollar for dollar, said Steve Bailey, pastor and mission program director.
But the hospital can't write off everyone's debt, and it has turned away patients, said spokeswoman Linda Aagard.
Arena's advice: See a doctor, then worry about how to pay.
"Don't wait until it's too late to seek [medical] help," he said. "You're not a bad person because you don't have health insurance."
Solutions elusive
Newhall had plunked down about $1,500 for tickets to the Broadway Centre Theatre's 7 p.m. show of "Sicko" and a reception afterwards at Mr. Z's Cucina Italiana.
Some invited leaders told him they had prior engagements; others said they had seen the movie or planned to.
Orem Republican Rep. Bradley Daw declined, saying: "I don't wish to support a filmmaker cut from the same cloth as Joseph Goebbels. The solution to our health care system is not socialism, which has never been successful in the long run."
Just before the movie began, Newhall gave unused tickets to a waiting line of Utahns who are either uninsured or have had benefits denied. He plans to give those he originally invited a second chance to see "Sicko" in September.
"Too much of the time when I talk to legislators about health care, or when I hear legislators talk about health care, I hear slogans and very little in the way of facts," he said.
Newhall's take on filmmaker Moore? He is "right on the button with his indictment of the profit-driven health care system in the U.S. as being inadequate care for the needs of U.S. citizens." The fix, however, is anything but easy.
"Anything that can be done in Utah is only a Band-Aid," Newhall acknowledged, "because of the national nature of the problem."
kstewart@sltrib.com
lrosetta@sltrib.com
To help
* ERIC WIMMER: Contributions can be made at any Zion's Bank. For information, call 802-254-5981 or e-mail Rep. Wimmer at csjhrw@msn.com.
* PHILLIP ARENA: Donations can be made in his name at any Wells Fargo Bank. Checks to the Salt Lake Rescue Mission are also accepted.
Tell us
What have you done to raise funds for a loved one's medical bills? We'd like Utahns to share their stories by commenting on this article online at www.sltrib.com.
I'll comment soon, that is if I can find some way to not use the words, "dumb" and "ass".
11 comments:
I can't even begin to express my anger over healthcare. I know their are pro's and con's to our healthcare vs socialized healthcare. I will mention that when I was in Europe and was sick, socialized heathcare was nice... /sigh
I plan on seeing this movie soon. Even if a movie tends to be one sided, there still can be truth in it. Anyways,I love his movies.
There is nothing a Democrat dislikes more than a closed mind which is why I'm not afraid to say it - Wimmer is the worst legislator in Utah.
And for the record:
"Filmmaker Michael Moore's brilliant and uplifting new documentary, "Sicko," deals with the failings of the U.S. healthcare system, both real and perceived. But this time around, the controversial documentarian seems to be letting the subject matter do the talking, and in the process shows a new maturity."
Roger Friedman
Fox News
So ... Wimmer thinks we can pay for health care with weight lifting competitions and asking our families for money.
God, I hope he hasn't patented this yet ... (yeah, sarcasm)
Though I feel Charity is not the answer to the health care Crisis. I just can't agree with Michael Moore's Push in Sicko. Cuba is not a good example to use for the United States Universal Health System. Only Rich People and Visitors Get health Care Everyone else is SOL in Cuba. Though I feel that that Orem State Rep Was Rude in what he said about Universal Healthcare But Right in What he Said about Micheal Moore. I'm one of the small few Democrats that thinks Micheal Moore is a Mooron!!!!!!!!!!
What disturbs me most about this article is the tacit acceptance that charity is the one and only solution to this issue. This notion is thrown into sharp relief when one comes to the realization that medicine and hospitals in particular used to be nearly all charities or state-sponsored (the "county hospital.") After WWII, however, the business of medicine kicked in full force and no there are precious few charitable hospitals left in the United States.
Why was health-care a mainly charitable institution for most of our history? I would speculate it was because people felt immoral and unethical in shaking down the sick and the dying for big bucks over their very life. Medicine still aspires to help anyone anywhere even if they have no money to pay, but it is quite obvious that this moral imperative is quickly fading out of fashion.
To me the health care industry is the modern-day highway man who, when we fall ill, enters the room, black-clad, shouting "your money or your life!"
Randy,
Tell us how you really feel. You don't have to like Moore, but it is very disturbing that so many cold hearted people in this state would rather have people die than give them medical insurance. It also bugs the hell out of me that elected conservatives have to have slogans to scare people because we are heading into a dictatorship form of government if government is involved. Frankly, I’m more worried about the secret government that we currently have now. By the way, these conservatives need a history lesson in knowing the differences between Socialism, Fascism, Nazism and dictatorships.
I'd love to help out Wimmer, but I need to save my charitible pennies for one of my own loved ones' (or heaven forbid, my own)future healthcare crisis.
Randy -- untrue about Cuba. They have pretty adequate healthcare for all. There is a ratio of 1 doc per every 100 people. They also train a certain number of people to become doctors from around the world for free.
Here's my story: My 30-something son was also caught between jobs with no insurance when he had emergency gall bladder surgery. The hospital bill (not including the several doctors who had separate bills) was $12,000. But the hospital offered to take $8,000 if he would pay immediately. Having good jobs and savings, my husband and I footed the bill. But it made me angry that my son and others would have to pay the full $12,000 if they didn't have cash or insurance. Those who can afford it the least are being made to pay the most. Hospitals may write of some of the bills in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they don't write these "little" bills off. They collect and some people pay for years to get out from under that debt!
And that doesn't even address what a rip off the charges are to begin with!
Oh here we Go Again. Republicans Jump my case for supporting Universal HealthCare (IE My Dad). Then Dems Get mad at me for Michael Moore Bashing.
Whats This world Coming too? any ways you can see What i think Universal Healthcare should Be by Looking at my Blog post Here: http://utahconservitivedemocrat.wordpress.com/2007/05/25/universal-health-care-my-thoughts/
Yes you Will Have to copy and paste it.
Thanks Randy
here's my problem with "giving" people health insurance: i have personally known several people who work part time or take lower paying jobs so they will qualify for medicare or subsidies like CHIP. they could find work with benefits or higher pay, but they choose to have children with total disregard for how they will pay for those healthcare costs. they figure someone else can bear the brunt of that cost...and why not the government? let's tax smokers. my argument is that if you are going to tax cigarettes, you should also tax the big mac, the 32 oz. coke, and donuts from your local associated food store. being overweight is JUST as serious as being a smoker!
as far as charity goes...our blog recently asked for money for a former utah resident's children with rigid spine muscular dystrophy.
one of my co-workers, who has health coverage, has a daughter who required open heart surgery. we took up a collection in our office, and when our company leadership heard of the drive, they agreed to match whatever we raised here in the office. what we raised helped offset some of their out-of-pocket costs.
i enjoy michael moore because he represents what is so great about our country: the right to express your opinion, even when it's extreme or conflicting.
healthcare costs are a "rip off" because doctors have to pay so much for malpractice insurance. we have no one to blame there but ourselves and money hungry attorneys who expect doctors to be 100% perfect 100% of the time.
last time i checked, we are all human and none of us is perfect all of the time.
Post a Comment