Can't wait to see it. As I mentioned before, my best friend at Merck was told to not talk to ANYONE if approached. Big Pharm is scared of little Michael Moore. Wonder why.
Moore is one of the few in this Country who are willing to tell the truth When Oprah asked Moore if he was afraid of the Government, Moore responded with "no" and then chuckled. Seems the Government doesn't like Moore making trips to Cuba with 9/11 workers seeking medical care.
Moore is currently being investigated by the Treasury Department for his trip to Cuba, which U.S. officials say may be in violation of a U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba.
"This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," Dale Thompson, the chief of general investigations and field operations at the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, wrote in a letter to Moore dated May 2. The letter acknowledged that Moore applied for permission to go to Cuba last year, "but no determination had been made by OFAC."
After receiving the notice from OFAC, Moore placed a copy of the film in a "safe house" outside the Country.
Evidently, Moore challanged Fred Thompson in a letter to a debate the medical care in this Country. Noting Thompson's fondness for Cuban cigars, Moore wrote that Thompson is in no position to criticize Moore for traveling to Cuba with several ailing Sept. 11 emergency responders to make the argument that Cuba's health care system is superior to the United States'.
"Putting aside the fact that you, like the Bush administration, seem far more concerned about the trip to Cuba than the health care of these 9/11 heroes, I was struck by the fact that your concerns (including comments about Castro’s reported financial worth) apparently do not extend to your own conduct," Moore wrote in a letter sent to Thompson dated Tuesday.
"In light of your comments regarding Cuba and Castro, do you think the 'box upon box of cigars — Montecristos from Havana' that you have in your office have contributed to Castro’s reported wealth?" reads the letter, which also points out that Thompson earned "hundreds of thousands" in campaign contributions from the health care industry and worked as an industry lobbyist.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272558,00.html?sPage=fnc.politics/youdecide2008
Posted by Judith at June 17, 2007 01:48 PM
The healthcare industry is in a death spiral. It's actuarial collapse in inevitable. But how do we fix the problem?
Universal healthcare provided by the government would be a nightmare. It would be subject to the same corrupt manipulation by the lobbyists which control other federal and state policies.
The government can't even handle processing passport applications, how well do you think they will handle your healthcare?
My daughter has been waiting for her passport for a school trip to England, Ireland and Scotland in July since her application was submitted March 30. After contacting my Representative, the application was tract down in a New Orleans processing center. It turns out the her name as it was being prepared was misspelled.
It is only the oversight of my Rep's staff that corrected the error. Do I want these moronic bureaucrats deciding what health services I can recieve? No thanks.
BTW, we're still waiting for the passport.
Posted by brisa at June 17, 2007 06:49 PMMy impression of universal health care is that it is doctors who will decide what care the patient needs, not bureaucrats.
Posted by Sharon at June 17, 2007 06:59 PMAs a dentist of some twenty-five years, who early in my career was a state medicare provider, I can tell you that business realities demand that treatment planning follows payment critereon.
Whatever treatment is covered will be provided. An open payment system would be hugely expensive. Medicare as it stands now is on a path to insolvency...and relatively soon. The costs of providing care are just too expensive.
How does one reduce these costs without rationing care? That is the dilemma.
Posted by brisa at June 17, 2007 07:26 PMAs a dentist of some twenty-five years, who early in my career was a state medicare provider, I can tell you that business realities demand that treatment planning follows payment critereon.
Dentistry should be universal, also.
We're spending $7500.00 per person for health care. 3 times more than any other country. The business model of healtcafre does not work...unless you're in the business end of healthcare.
Posted by phidipides at June 17, 2007 07:49 PMAs a dentist of some twenty-five years, who early in my career was a state medicare provider, I can tell you that business realities demand that treatment planning follows payment critereon.
Dentistry should be universal, also.
We're spending $7500.00 per person for health care in this country, 3 times more than any other country, and still leaving 43 million uninsured. The business model of healthcare does not work...unless you're in the business end of the business model of healthcare.
Posted by phidipides at June 17, 2007 07:54 PMMy favorite (paraphrased) statement from Moore on Oprah: "We have to stop thinking about ME and start thinking about WE."
Posted by Susan S at June 18, 2007 05:25 AMMy wife is a pediatrician. She’s a Haitian American. She’s spent the last ten years since graduating from medical school working in various positions in the Harlem community in Manhattan. During medical school she received grants and loan reimbursements from various government programs in return for her commitment to provide primary care services in an underserved community. All her commitments have now been fulfilled. She’s now in the process of opening her own medical office and going into business for herself for the first time. She’s taken over and renovated a small space in a brownstone in Harlem that has been occupied by a black doctor since the early 1970’s. He owns the building and agreed to finance the renovation so that the space would remain occupied as a medical office with a black physician. She’s set to start seeing patients there in the first half of July (God willing). She has decided that she’s going to operate the office on a cash only basis. No insurance. She believes that by doing that she can keep her expenses down and not have to charge as much per patient as she would if she was taking insurance. Keeping her fees down and taking advantage of government subsidies for things like vaccines (again, because she’s operating in an underserved community) she thinks she can make her services affordable enough that people will be willing, and able, to pay out of pocket to see her. The owner has also agreed to give her below market rent as long as she needs it to get the office established. That will also go a long way to helping her stay affordable to as many people in the community as possible.
Hopefully, she can make it work.
That's an honorable thing for her to do, snark. Tell her good luck from a virtual friend.
Posted by Susan S at June 18, 2007 09:20 AMA friend of mine was quite pissed when he learned that his institutionalized autistic brother had multiple teeth extractions since the dentist said medicade (medicare?) would rather do that than cover fillings. So when the guy's jaw caves in due to lack of teeth roots, isn't that going to cost a lot more to the state?
I wouldn't think universal health care would cover any and all procedures on demand, but some basic care for all should be a minimal requirement for a civilized society.
Posted by Sharon at June 18, 2007 11:35 AMSnark, the world needs more people like your Wife. I hope that all good things come her way in her effort to help people in Harlem.
Posted by Judith at June 18, 2007 11:45 AMThe gentleman who owns the building is the one who deserves the most credit. He dedicated his life to serving the Harlem community and he's gone out of his way to make sure that someone was going to be able to take his place. She would not be able to afford to do what she's doing if it were not for his assistance.
But yes, she's pretty wonderful too. I'm a lucky guy.
Posted by snark at June 18, 2007 11:57 AM