Bill Moyers shines light on the health insurance mess - a Journalistic Best
There are so few mainstream investigative journalists in this country
anymore, I have to wonder in whose pockets the MSM has cozily
slipped--and why.
When one of our best investigative newspapers has slipped to such depths that it's publisher invites health insurance execs
hellbent on killing any hint of public options to hobnob with, and thus
lobby, top-level White House officials at a private soiree in her own
home (but only if they fork over $25,000), and when nobody else seems
to notice or care, we can give up any remaining quaint notion of a
watchdog press.
We're on our own, folks, and if not for the precious few like Bill Moyers and Rachel Maddow,
we would be dead in the water. They are the mainstream media remnants
of a once-proud profession and we need to treat them like the treasures
they really are.
They study the issues, they bring on guests who
can discuss them intelligently, they ask the right questions, they give
their guests time to answer thoughtfully, they continue the
conversation with smart follow-ups, and best of all, they don't give up
their precious air time to raucous, spitting catfights between
notoriously biased opponents.
Last week, Bill Moyers brought to our attention two important stories. (See above for the first one)
On "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS Friday night, Bill talked with Wendell Potter, a former Cigna exec turned whistleblower. In Potter's own startling words
(startling not because we didn't know, but because a former insider,
someone who, less than two years before, was a practicing purveyor of
these professed sleazy tactics, said them):
"The
industry has always tried to make Americans think that government-run
systems are the worst thing that could possibly happen to them, that if
you even consider that you're heading down the slippery slope towards
socialism... I think that people who are strong advocates of our health
care system remaining as it is, very much a free market health care
system, fail to realize that we're really talking about human beings
here, and it doesn't work as well as they would like it to... They
are trying to make you worry and fear a government bureaucrat being
between you and your doctor. What you have now is a corporate
bureaucrat between you and your doctor... The public plan would
do a lot to keep [health insurance companies] honest, because it would
have to offer a standard benefit plan. It would have to operate more
efficiently, as does the Medicare program. It would be structured, I'm
certain, on a level playing field so that it wouldn't [have an] unfair
advantage [over] the private insurance companies. Because it could be
administered more efficiently, the private insurers would have to
operate more efficiently."
The interview is a half-hour
long. Later into it he outlines the insurance industry's efforts to
discredit Michael Moore's documentary, "Sicko", when they saw the truth
in it and were afraid the American people might believe it, too. This
to me was a stunning admission, the entire interview an astonishing
piece of journalism--again, not entirely surprising, but I saw a door
opening, enough for us to wedge our foot in. Wan rays of sunshine about
to turn dazzling, if only we can keep the momentum going.
I beg
everyone who reads this and clicks onto the link to send it on to
everyone you know. Send it to your congressmen, your governors, your
legislatures, the White House. Get an email chain going--put the link
up on yard signs or billboards. Put it on bumper stickers. Stencil it
on tee-shirts or tattoo it onto your forehead. Whatever it takes.
This is a television event too important to let die. Please. Keep it alive. Keep it going. It's up to us now.
(cross-posted at Ramona's Voices here)
Ramona
Great idea! I had the same reaction. This interview would be an excellent basis for an advertising campaign. I could not agree with you more.
And this interview gets to the heart of where I think the opposition to health care reform really lies. IMHO, it's not a question of costs and how to pay for reform (the conventional wisdom). Not really.
I believe the real opposition is ideological and has everything to do with fear (and intimidation) relating to the whole idea of "government-run" health care. That's what makes Potter so valuable.
July 13, 2009 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're so right. This battle to keep the government out of health care began long before Hillary made it her personal mission to ensure (not insure)health care to all Americans.
They tried to make her a laughing-stock for even daring to try, and by God, they succeeded.
Only now are we scratching our collective heads, trying to figure out how they got the best of us.
They did it by making us afraid of government and now our country is a capitalist's wet dream and a worker's nightmare.
We've gone down the tubes and even some of the people who are suffering the most cannot fathom the truth--that we've been hoodwinked and for the last eight years at least, the people in power have been aiding and abetting.
The media, for the most part, has looked the other way so now it's up to us to become the watchdogs. We can't do it alone, but we can do it together, if only we have the energy and the guts.
July 13, 2009 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have so much to comment on here.
First, I always like to say that Moyers is GOD!!! When he got 'fired' by the bush administration I went through the roof!! If I had been on line back then, I would have written about it everyday.
Second, when he came back I thought: There is a change comin'.
Third, I saw the show on Sunday (they give it to us twice up here) because I was given the heads up by a friend here. And I was not disappointed. That whistleblower blew my mind.
That's not right, pushing some computer buttons and killing people.
I mean that was the summary for me of that interview. All those years he was there at Cigna. I am reminded of course of the movie flailing the tobacco industry.
But this guy is really believable. At least I lend more than just some credence to his testimony.
Fourth, Michael Moore IS GOD. His Sicko was a real gem.
I am reminded of instances where a speaker might make 49 points and get one date wrong and the speaker is attacked by the other party for the date.
Moore will stick his neck out. One strong brave fellow. And the powers that be will just hit him with everything they got hoping to draw attention to the issues Michael brought to the fore.
And Moyers, takes some clips out of the movie and demonstrates what the real message was; incontrovertible evidence that the way they do things in other countries may be something we would like to look at.
Thank you Ramona. Thank you very much for this.
July 13, 2009 1:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a big fat bloviator who has built a media career telling lies. There is a big fat bloviator who has built a media career telling truths.
The Republicans have embraced and cherished their lying bloviator. Democrats deny they've ever heard of Michael Moore.
Until Democrats have the courage to embrace their own prophets they'll continue to merely enable the American right-wing by offering tepid, nuanced, status quo answers to the huge problems that confront this country.
July 13, 2009 6:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, Bluebell, I laughed till I cried over that one. When you speak the truth, the truth comes OUT!
Yes, MM is our bloviator and a mighty fine one, too.
July 13, 2009 8:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
And he's almost never wrong - be it the automotive industry, war, or healthcare. Hard to find one like that in Congress.
July 13, 2009 8:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
(zing)
Perfect
July 13, 2009 9:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
DD, your comments are so good they deserve their own blog! You got it absolutely right--every single thing.
We've been HOODWINKED about so many things, I don't know where to start with letting the sunshine in.
(And still there are so many who want to believe that everyone BUT the greedy capitalists are the enemy. It ain't gonna be easy.)
July 13, 2009 2:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mr. Potter says that the insurance companies are moving to reduce expenditures on health care by putting more of the cost burden on the consumer is interesting. They plan to sell plans with high initial deductibles of say $2,000, with co-payments above that level. This will shift more cost to consumers, and reduce preventive care as patients avoid care (they must pay for the first 2K).
The health insurance industry seems to be seeking to increase profits, decrease actual health care 'medical loss' spending, and siphon money off for their Wall Street owners in a similar scam to the real estate bubble. Similar to the housing loan scams, they will gladly drive the system under, pocketing the last dollar of profit from the last hospital still in business in a collapsing health care system.
Once the health system reaches collapse hedge funds will pocket their money and the government will then be on the hook to clean up the mess. Let us hope Democrats will act for a single payer gov't plan before these health care leeches suck the country dry.
July 13, 2009 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
The broader indicator in all of this is the measure of how much we have allowed capitalism to displace democracy as a credo of how we live. We've confused a system of governance with an economic model and can't quite seem to decide which we would prefer to be superior. This confusion I refer to is one of our lawmakers. The general populace has the distinction between the two well in hand.
Moyers properly identifies the particulars of how this works by contrasting who is between you and your doctor. He identifies the fallacy of this person being a healthcare company bureaucrat who we intuitively know does not represent the patient or customer. This structure was devised for the sole purpose of exercising control over the entire process and to manage, not a system of health care, but rather a system of profit management.
The management model, of course, is flawed. The proof of that rests in the runaway costs of the current system and the fact that the U.S. is comparatively worse off when examining the metrics relative to other developed nations. The bottom line is we are paying more and ending up with far less.
It is informative that the above facts are irrefutable but yet some persons would have you believe our system of health care is wonderful and is the greatest thing since sliced bread. This is simply a lie. Nothing less. And whoever expresses this opinion is either a liar or is incapable of conscious thought. Neither characterisitc is desirable in someone who exercises some form of control over the process of governance or of healthcare delivery.
Nor is it acceptable as a general recipe for the conduct of commerce in this nation and particularly not for the conduct of governance.
July 13, 2009 7:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
If I had a big enough car I would put this on a bumper sticker. Terrific!
July 14, 2009 8:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Ramona. Maybe you'll hit the lottery and you can get that car.
July 14, 2009 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Potter also recently testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Read the transcript, I think it is more to the point: http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=a571410c-634b-4424-a6c1-d6760cd507eb
July 13, 2009 8:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the link to the transcript. What saddens me is that it's been out there since June 26 and I've seen very little mention of it in the media. That's where we come in. The damage those greedy devils have done and are doing has got to stop. People have died because of them. The only way it will is if the government takes over, and the only way the government will take over is if they have a mandate.
July 13, 2009 8:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ramona, you do wonderful work!
It tried to comment over at your site. But was unable to do so. Just wanted you to know...
Peace.
July 13, 2009 9:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks so much, TheraP. It means a lot coming from you. But Grrr that you couldn't comment. I hear from someone every now and then that they can't but then others seem to have no problem. I don't know what to DO about it!
Thanks for trying, though.
July 13, 2009 9:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Moyers was at his best on this one. Thank you, Ramona, for putting this out front where it belongs.
The part of the program that had me most seething was the hearing with the four insurance industry execs.
When asked one by one if they would modify their rescission policy, one by one they said "no." That, paired with the testimonies of those who have been harmed by this obscene greed, is what needs to be splayed front and center in front of every American who doubts the need for health care reform in this country -- and those who are still sitting on their hands hoping other peoples' efforts will suffice to get the job done.
July 13, 2009 10:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, I agree with you about the answers the execs gave. I'm going to write about that, too. My state rep, Bart Stupak, was the one grilling them and he was terrific. I'm going to write about him, too. When he first started out as a congressman, his backwoods demeanor and shaky voice was a bit of an embarrassment but he always knew he was there for the people. I love that guy!
July 14, 2009 8:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wondered who he was. He was awesome. You are sooo lucky to have him on your side -- a lawmaker one can actually be proud of! What a notion.
July 14, 2009 8:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
I learned something from the Moyers interview with a former Cigna VP. The question to ask for-profit health insurance flacks is "What is your company's Medical Loss Ratio?" This is the percent of their income that is actually paid to health care providers like docs and hospitals--and is the basis for their profit margin. In the 90s the MLR averaged around 95% but is now around 80%. Speculators buy and sell company stock on small (- .1%) changes in the MLR, so it's what causes companies to deny coverage, shed expensive patients, etc in order to increase the MLR and their profits and attract speculators.
July 14, 2009 3:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great point, lastmarx. We do need to know where that money is going--in detail. Why isn't the MSM on that one, too?
(Answer: There's no jazz to it.)
July 14, 2009 8:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
No time to comment in depth today, Ramona, but wanted to congratulate you on a good post. Rec'd.
Fear of the government's competency is a HUGE factor in this issue.
July 14, 2009 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
I watched this twice - got equally disgusted at the way profits over people has become the mantra. No argument that all players in healthcare should be profitable, but when insurers cull the herd for profits, and leave people high and dry, it's deplorable. My clients are physicians, and they are also in the food chain that gets cut. Funny (not) - how the two most elemental components of the healthcare equation are both targeted to get less.
July 14, 2009 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please, before we get all excited about health care policy, let's read the Constitution of the United States of America. There is NO authority granted the federal government to deal with health care in any way.
The premise that the government should do something is false on the face of it. In fact, that which the government currently does is not Constitutional. I reject the premise all together.
The question isn't what type of government health program should be implemented. In fact, it's not even a question. None because it cannot. The 10th Amendment prohibits it from acting in this area.
The correct answer is to remove the government all together from the system (Medicaid and Medicare and everything except the VA).
Please first point to which clause of the Constitution grants the federal government authority to participate in our health care in any way. The Constitution can be found here: http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html.
July 14, 2009 4:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Any other old books by white men you'd like to recommend?
July 15, 2009 1:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Last I looked the constitution didn't dictate policy. The policymakers use it as a guideline when making decisions about the country's well-being.
We could spend the rest of our days arguing about which policies are spelled out in the constitution and the answer would always be the same. They're not in there.
July 15, 2009 9:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow!! A shout out tonight by Bill Moyers himself!!
I am impressed, and I hope you are proud of yourself, Ramona.
The rest of the TPM community, join with me: "We are not worthy! We are not worthy!"
Nice job.
-- ARG
July 31, 2009 11:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL! Thanks ARG, no kowtowing now--this is a democracy!
I've been gone all day and just saw the clip and the comments. I'm flyin' high! But tomorrow's another day. . .it gives me the oomph to keep on keeping on.
August 1, 2009 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink