Documentary Part of Health Care Reform Debate in Sacramento
Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) on Tuesday will host a special legislative briefing in Sacramento to discuss the new documentary "Sicko" about the U.S. health care system with filmmaker Michael Moore, the Contra Costa Times reports (Contra Costa Times, 6/10).
"Sicko" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France last month. In the film, Moore documents the stories of the uninsured, individuals who were denied care and people who were improperly discharged by hospitals.
Health care advocates hope to use the film to build support for health care reform nationwide (California Healthline, 5/29).
Kuehl has introduced SB 840, which would create a state-run, single-payer health insurance system in California.
The California Nurses Association is providing support for the event. CNA is holding a rally at the Capitol after the briefing and will hold a screening of the film that evening.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) also is hosting a screening of the documentary on Tuesday (Contra Costa Times, 6/10).
Moore's film highlights problems in the U.S. health care system and points out that more effective strategies are available, Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA, writes in a Contra Costa Times opinion piece.
"Forcing everyone to buy insurance as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger [R] proposes, or providing tax credits, or shifting more government money to the HMOs won't solve the crisis," DeMoro writes, adding that "it will just reward the insurers for their system of preventing care and making them wealthier."
According to DeMoro, SB 840 in California and HR 676 in Congress "would guarantee comprehensive health care for all without relying on the insurance industry" (DeMoro, Contra Costa Times, 6/9).