State leaders pass on Moore's 'Sicko' prescription for health care systemCorrection: 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".
