(But you can view it for FREE at the website
below)
(But you can view it for FREE at the website
below)
IAHF List:
You can watch Micheal Moore's documentary film "Sicko" on the web, in its entirety at http://files.filefront.com/Sicko.avi/;7822955;/fileinfo.html The good thing about the movie is that it raises a lot of valuable questions about our failed medical system, the bad thing about it is that it proposes Universal Health Coverage for a failed system, without recognizing that it IS a failed system!
Due to this reason, IAHF does NOT support the legislation Michael Moore is currently pushing for (US National Health Insurance Act, or HR 676), and we won't support it unless it is changed to suit our concern which is that all it does is entrench a FAILED allopathic medical system! (see info about HR 676 at http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?ID=10375
A disgruntled Blue Cross employee sent Michael Moore an internal Blue Cross memo from the companies Communications Director (see below) which indicates that they're VERY concerned about anticipated fallout from the film, both from employees and customers- and the ceo has outlined his thoughts on damage control. Its pretty cool that it got leaked so we can see it.
After reading the internal memo, since the Blue Cross guys cell phone number and private email address were included, I both called and emailed him, and am providing the email that I sent to him, to you below. My message to Blue Cross (and to Michael Moore and the government) is that Blue Cross should re-start "AlternaPath" a pilot program that they ran in Alaska and Washington State in 1994 in which they were reimbursing for alternative medicine. (I copied my mssg to Michael Moore, to the principals of the Life Extension Foundation, to Byron Richards of Wellness Resources, and to some other key people.)
I don't know about you guys, but the only health insurance I feel I need is the medical coverage I get via my car insurance which would cover me in the event of an accident while driving. My health insurance is just to stay healthy, and if I'm going to pay for health insurance, I want it to reimburse for the type of healthcare that I would WANT- in short, I would WANT to be reimbursed for going to Alternative Practitioners OR to Mainstream doctors, but I don't want insurance that attempts to DICTATE anything to me.
POLITICIANS RETIREMENT FUNDS INVESTED IN PHARMACEUTICALS
With both State and Federal government employee retirement plans hopelessly entangled in pharmaceutical investments: example: State of New York: NY State Retirement fund CAFR. http://cafr1.com/STATES/NEWYORK/RETIREMENT/NYRINV2001.PDF we've really got our work cut out for us to get what WE want!!
With this sort of corruption, guess what sort of coverage any national Universal Health Coverage would have? It sure wouldn't be what WE want, and if we're ever going to GET what we want, we're going to have to make the effort to educate people, and we're going to have to flex our collective political muscle to DEMAND that insurance companies and the government start seeing the LIGHT about the FISCAL SOUNDNESS of promoting PREVENTION, because our current system isn't working, its BANKRUPTING us! (I'm going to make sure Ron Paul reads this email of mine so he can factor this info into his platform.)
AlternaPath was a Blue Cross pilot program that reimbursed for some forms of alternative medicine in 1994 in the states of Alaska and Washington. It ran for about a year, and I have never gotten a straight answer out of them as to why they discontinued it. You can read an article about the program at http://www.chiro.org/chiro-list/newsfile/medtrend.txt (Scroll down to "Report on AlternaPath Pilot Project")
Here is the email I sent to Barclay Fitzpatrick, the Director of Corporate Communications at Blue Cross. I copied it to Michael Moore in an effort to educate both of them and so far, neither has responded- below it you can see Fitzpatrick's "damage control" memo which is his reaction to Moore's movie "Sicko". I am attempting to give Blue Cross a PR "out" since their ass is in a crack. I'm explaining that the best way forward for them is to bring back AlternaPath-- I'll let you all know if I hear back from either Moore, or Fitzpatrick, because if they ignore what I'm saying, I'm going to turn all of you LOOSE on them both. Michael Moore did a great job of stirring the pot with his film, but he's not a healthy person- just look at him- he's a prime candidate for a heart attack, stroke, diabetes, or cancer and he'll no doubt DIE from one of these if someone doesn't shoot him first unless he starts grasping our message about alternative health and healing- so I need your help to get our message across to him, his heart is in the right place, he's just ignorant.
To: Barclay Fitzpatrick,
VP July
7, 2007
Corporate Communications
Capital Blue Cross
barclay.fitzpatrick@capbluecross.com
Hi Barclay-
Pursuant to the mssg I just left on your cell phone, I just wanted to say
that several years ago I wrote an article that was published in
Life Extension Magazine about how the insurance industry
was beginning to explore reimbursing for different alternative medical
modalities that are preventive in nature.
I'm going to try to dredge up that article so I can email it to you,
because as I recall, one of the programs I reported on was a Blue
Cross/Blue Shield pilot program called
"AlternaPath", which, if memory serves, was
being tried out in Alaska and Washington State.
I might be wrong about this, but I think at one time Blue Cross was
particularly interested in a program of Dr.Dean Ornish's for the
prevention and treatment of heart disease.
Seems to me at one point I did some research because I wanted to update
the stories a few years after it was published, and I was sad to learn
that Alternapath had been scrapped for some reason by Blue Cross/ Blue
Shield, probably due to cross investment in the pharmaceutical industry or
something like that.
That saddened me as a person whose life was saved via a suppressed
alternative treatment mode called orthomolecular medicine: see http://www.orthomed.org and also see
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/
This approach saved my life 30 years ago after 4 years mired in the
psychiatric gulag almost killed me with dangerous, toxic Rx drugs that
only addressed symptoms without getting to their root causes.
(Micronutrients bring about real and lasting healing at the cellular level
in marked contrast to drugs which can have their place if used in
conjunction with nutrients, but when used alone, without them, they're
dangerous.)
Blue Cross (and the entire insurance industry)
is obviously going to be hit very hard from a PR standpoint by Michael
Moore's movie, Sicko. As I told you in my voice mail mssg, somehow
Michael Moore got ahold of your internal memo about his movie and he
circulated it widely on the internet which is how I got to read it.
It occurs to me that one thing which Blue Cross could do to
counteract the negative PR fallout from the movie, something the American
people would really love and would really embrace you for would be if you
were to resurrect the Alternapath
Program, and I wanted to ask if you've given
any consideration to possibly doing this? It might be a very solid way forward
for you right now.
If you did want to do this, perhaps I could assist in some way. I was one
of the authors of a book published by the US Government Printing Office
titled Alternative Medicine- Expanding Medical
Horizons- A Report to the National Institutes of Health on
Alternative Medical Practices in the United States.
This book is still in print: http://www.amazon.com/Alternative-Medicine-Expanding-Medical-Horizons/dp/0898759137
I am also friends with former Congressman Berkley Bedell. He and I were
among a group of people that included Senator Tom Harken who created the
Office of Alternative Medicine at the NIH, but the office was hijacked by
Pharma (today its called National Center for Alternative and Complimentary
Medicine) but its original mission has long since been subverted by the
government which is why Berkley created his own private Foundation- the
National Foundation for Alternative Medicine http://www.nfam.org/berk.html
The direction I think the insurance industry should start going in in the
aftermath of Michael Moore's movie is toward reimbursing for
alternative and preventive healing modes and systems. It makes perfectly
good fiscal sense for the insurance industry to really be a part of
helping Americans become healthier people, and theres no reason why Blue
Cross can't become the rudder that steers the industry's ship, you
can become the leaders!!
Please let me know whatever happened to your Alternapath Pilot program, I
think you only had it in Alaska and Washington State.
An excellent book for you to check out sometime is Life Extension
Foundation's Disease Prevention and Treatment
which you can access via the front page of the Life Extension
Foundation's website at http://www.lef.org They have a menu
into which you can put any disease condition, and then access this entire
book from their site. It helps guide people to nutritional programs that
can be used for preventive purposes to help people stay healthier and live
longer. The Life Extension Foundation are clients of mine, I'm a
consultant to the dietary supplement industry on legislative issues, but
am also a grass roots activist and have a big grass roots following. I do
a lot of radio shows, political organizing, writing, and sometimes do some
work on Capital hill.
I'm 50 years old, but due to 30 years of using dietary supplements and
being into all aspects of healthy living my physiological age is at least
15-20 years younger than my chronological age. Aside from insurance
for my car which would provide me with some coverage if I were ever
hospitalized from a car wreck, I don't personally have any health
insurance aside from the many things I do to stay healthy. For example,
I'm in a Masters swim program which is age group competition, I ride a
bike every day and do a lot of hiking and sailing. I'm a competitive
yachtsman and race on the crew of a Pearson 37. I grow an organic garden
and also grow herbs.
I would really enjoy discussing all of this with you at your earliest
convenience! If you should call and miss me, please just leave a callback
number and a good time to call back. In the aftermath of this movie, I
believe I could help Blue Cross in ways that would help your companies
image. If you should ever find yourself in Washington State, you are
always welcome to visit me here at my home. I live here, in a suburb of
Vancouver, BC, Canada in Point Roberts WA http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0408/feature7/
cc Saul Kent, President, Life Extension Foundation
Bill Faloon, VP, Life Extension Foundation
Berkley Bedell, founder, National Foundation for Alternative Medicine
Tim Bolen, President, Jurimed Public Relations and Research Group
Sincerely,
John C. Hammell, President
International Advocates for Health Freedom
556 Boundary Bay Rd.
Point Roberts WA 98281 USA
800-333-2553 H&W
BARCLAY's BLUECROSS MEMO RE SICKO FOLLOWS MICHAEL MOORE's COMMENTS ON THE MEMO
(WHICH WAS LEAKED TO HIM BY A BLUE CROSS EMPLOYEE)
From:
maillist@michaelmoore.com [mailto:maillist@michaelmoore.com]
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2007 5:10 AM
To: AMSA JR Fellow
Subject: BlueCross Secret Memo Re: 'Sicko'
BlueCross Secret Memo Re: 'Sicko' ... "You would have to be
dead to be unaffected by Moore's movie..."
July 6th, 2007
Friends,
An employee who works at Capital BlueCross has
sent us a confidential memo written and circulated by its Vice President
of Corporate Communications, Barclay Fitzpatrick. His job, it seems, was
to go and watch "Sicko," observe the audience's reaction,
and then suggest a plan of action for how to deal with the movie.
The memo, which I am releasing publicly in this
email, is a fascinating look at how one health care company views
"Sicko" -- and what it fears its larger impact will be on the
public. The industry's only hope, the memo seems to indicate, is if
the movie "flops."
Mr. Fitzpatrick writes: "In typical
Moore fashion, Government and business leaders are behind a
conspiracy to keep the little guy down and dominated while getting
rich."
No. You don't say! That can't be!
BlueCross V.P. Fitzpatrick seems downright
depressed about the movie he just saw. "You would have to be dead to
be unaffected by Moore's movie," he writes.
"Sicko" leaves audiences feeling "ashamed to be...a
capitalist, and part of a 'me' society instead of a 'we'
society."
He walks out of the theater only to witness an
unusual sight: people -- strangers -- mingling and talking to each other.
"'I didn't know they (the insurers) did that!' was a
common exclamation followed by a discussion of the example,"
according to Fitzpatrick.
He then assesses the film's impact:
"[T]he impact on small business decision makers, our members, the
community, and our employees could be significant. Ignoring its impact
might be a successful strategy only if it flops, but that has not been the
history of Moore's films ... If popular, the movie will
have a negative impact on our image in this community."
The BlueCross memo then suggests a strategy in
dealing with "Sicko" and offers the BCBS "talking
points" to be used in discounting the film.
My heartfelt thanks to the employee who sent this
to me <http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=9996>
.
And now a word from me to Capital BlueCross:
How 'bout a debate? No more secret memos and
hand wringing about the millions seeing "Sicko." Just me and
your CEO openly debating the merits of a system that kills thousands of
innocent Americans every year.
In the meantime, I hope you don't mind me
sharing your thoughts and impressions in your well-written memo. And if
the rest of your executive team hasn't seen "Sicko," it
opens in an additional 100 cities tonight for a total of over 700 screens
across North America. Attendance went up a whopping 56% on the 4th of July,
higher than any other film in the theaters right now. But don't be
scared, and certainly don't be ashamed to be a capitalist. Greed is
good! Especially good for you. There's nothing like having the
pre-existing condition of being rich, should you ever get sick and need
help.
Yours,
Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com <http://www.michaelmoore.com/>
P.S. Join me at noon EST, today, when I'll be
chatting with U.S. Steelworkers, the California Nurses Association, and
whoever stops by to talk about "Sicko" and the industry's
attempt to stop this movement. Check my website for details.
[The following memo was written by Barclay
Fitzpatrick, VP of Corporate Communications for Capital BlueCross]
I was able to see Sicko last night in
Lancaster. There were about 30 other viewers in the theatre covering
all age groups. I have attached the well-written memo from one of our
partners, which describes cases used in the movie, to the end of my memo.
Also attached are the latest talking points from BCBSA. I will focus on
impact to our brands, issues, and suggested strategies in this memo.
The Movie
You would have to be dead to be unaffected by Moore's movie, he is an
effective storyteller. In Sicko Moore presents a collage of injustices by
selecting stories, no matter how exceptional to the norm, that present the
health insurance industry as a set of organizations and people dedicated to
denying claims in the name of profit. Denial for treatments that are
considered "experimental" is a common story, along with denial
for previous conditions, and denial for application errors or omissions.
Individual employees from Humana and other insurers are interviewed who
claim to have actively pursued claim denial as an institutionalized goal
in the name of profit.
While Humana and Kaiser Permanente are demonized,
the BlueCross and BlueShield brands appear, separately and together,
visually and verbally, with such frequency that there should be no doubt
that whatever visceral reaction his movie stirs will spill over onto the
Blues brands in every market. Here are some examples:
* Horizon BlueCross/BlueShield is picked out early
in the film in a collage of stories citing bad treatment of members.
* BCBSA is cited for rejecting a woman for coverage due to a high BMI -
"too fat" is written across the screen over a copy of her
application denial letter, which describes the BMI rejection.
* BlueShield of California denied coverage for a diagnostic test,
which the patient later received overseas. Patient sues BS of CA and
medical director admits to not 'seeing' the actual denial letter,
which was given an electronic signature.
* BlueCross of California denied payment for a major surgery after they
discovered a previous yeast infection, then dropped the person for
coverage. This is followed by an interview with a person who claims to
have been a specialist at finding inaccuracies in applications to enable
post-treatment payment denials.
* A BCBSA card is shown while the narrator describes how they (insurers)
got wealthy.
In typical Moore fashion, Government and
business leaders are behind a conspiracy to keep the little guy down and
dominated while getting rich. Nixon Oval Office tapes are used to show how
the initial idea of a 'less care = profit' enterprise was supported
by the administration and became the HMO paradigm. Legislators are
presented as bought stooges for the political agendas of insurers and big
Pharma. Insurers are middlemen in the Medicare Modernization Act - which
is presented as a trick to charge seniors more for their prescription
drugs.
Doctors are barely touched - only in the course of
discussing the AMA's work to sink early efforts in the 40's and
50's to start universal health care. He takes efforts to show that
doctors live well in other countries despite the existence of universal
health care. In follow-up interviews, Moore has stated that he has
spoken to and knows many doctors, and "doctors aren't the
problem".
In the second half of the movie,
Moore walks us through individual stories of the Canadian, British,
French, and Cuban health care systems where everything is free and - he
reminds us repeatedly - no one is ever denied service because they
can't pay. In addition to health care, the government provides free
day care, college, and someone to do your laundry. Everybody gets along
and takes care of each other and life is beautiful because there is
universal health care. As a viewer, you are made to feel ashamed to be an
American, a capitalist, and part of a 'me' society instead of a
'we' society - and the lack of universal health care is held up in
support of that condemnation.
The Impact
Moore's movies are intentionally intense and his objective in
Sicko seems to be to revive the earlier Clinton efforts - not to achieve
universal coverage with this movie, but to push the topic to the top of
the agenda. He will be just as successful whether proponents mount
momentum or discussion entails key stakeholders defending why it won't
work.
As a health care industry educated viewer it is
easy to pick out where Moore is cultivating misperceptions to further a
political agenda, but you will also recognize that 80%+ of the audience
will have their perceptions substantially affected. In demonstration of
its impact, an informal discussion group ensued outside the theatre after
the movie. While some people recognized how one-sided the presentation
was, most were incredulous and "I didn't know they (the insurers)
did that!" was a common exclamation followed by a discussion of the
example.
The unfortunate reality for Capital BlueCross is
that as the market leader, we will be affected both in brand and as
employees as Moore's efforts in the movie and surrounding
PR activity are seen by more of the community. The impact on industry
savvy Sales' contacts should be minimal, while the impact on small
business decision makers, our members, the community, and our employees
could be significant. Ignoring its impact might be a successful strategy
only if it flops, but that has not been the history of Moore's films
nor the way this one appears to be headed. If popular, the movie will have
a negative impact on our image in this community.
There should be no doubt that many of our
employees will be asked what they think of the movie by friends, family,
and neighbors. We should anticipate that our customer service people will
be asked about particular cases from the movie and if we follow similar
policies. Word and phrases we have routinely used to date in policy change
communications or denial letters, such as "Investigational", will
be seen as affirming the film's contentions. The national BCBSA
response - while coming out against the film's divisiveness and
focusing on the positive work of the Blues - steers media inquiries about
policies and denials back to the plans themselves.
There are 4 key areas of misperception cultivated
by the movie that we should consider in any messaging strategy:
1. That the industry is all about HMO's.
Moore cultivates this further in his interviews. The reality is that
HMO's are a minority product and have been for some time.
2. The movie attacks insurers for a profit motive, but makes no
distinction among for-profit and non-profit insurers, and in its execution
places the Blue Plans together with the for-profit insurers.
3. All plans and employees - from leaders to service representatives - are
painted as motivated by profit to deny claims, and only those with crisis
of conscience have come forward to confess their sins.
4. Perhaps most damaging of all, Moore completely fails to address the
most significant driver of health care costs - our own lifestyle choices -
and seeks to focus attention and efforts on the alluring
'quick-fix' of universal health care. It has taken a generation of
poor nutrition and exercise to get obesity and related health issues - and
subsequent costs - to their current levels, and Moore's movie fails to
acknowledge the causal relationship or need to change (he briefly touches
the subject in a non-memorable way). Contrast this to the recent Health
Care Symposium held in Harrisburg - where a panel of representatives from
Government, Insurance, Hospitals, Business, Physicians, and even Lawyers
agreed on one thing - that there was no quick fix and that Health and
Wellness was the critical area of focus.
Suggestions
I believe the most successful strategy will not be in attacking the movie
for its weaknesses or misperceptions, but in distancing ourselves and our
brand from the groups and motivations he attacks, demonstrating the good
that we do and achieve (aligns with BCBSA strategy), and in articulating
our disappointment that he did not address the truly relevant issue of
improving our health and wellness. We will convene a team to consider
other approaches and work on potential messages for media inquiries,
customer service, and employees.
Confidential Memo (from partner)
SiCKO - viewed on 6/26/2007
Takeaways
* The main theme of the movie is that American
society needs to focus on the "we" and not the "me" in
healthcare.
o This broad message is an overlay for the
specific criticisms of the healthcare industry - the movie asks where the
morality of the American public lies and contrasts
America's approach to health care unfavorably with other
nations.
* SiCKO does not go into any depth about how
health insurers operate how the health insurance business works - instead
it fixates on what it characterizes as the profit incentive to deny care
to patients (e.g. examples of barriers to getting health insurance if you
are not healthy; examples of people being denied expensive tests or
procedures; examples of efforts to deny reimbursement after care has been
received.)
* The film draws no distinction between
not-for-profit and for-profit insurers - in fact the Blue Cross/Blue
Shield brand is intermixed with the for - profit brands as background
reference points. o One scene shows a Blue Cross / Blue Shield logo as
Michael Moore's voice over begins, "While the healthcare
companies get wealthy..."
* The health insurers that get the most airtime
are:
o Kaiser Permanente
o Humana
o CIGNA
o Blue Cross of California
o Aetna
* No Pharma companies are mentioned - but SiCKO
suggests in multiple instances that prescription drugs are overpriced
o At a pharmacy in London, prescription drugs
are £6.65, no matter how large the dose
o In Cuba, one bankrupt 9/11 worker's inhaler costs 5 cents, instead
of $100
Further Notes
* Some of the examples of denial of care
highlighted in the film:
o A woman with Kaiser Permanente takes her
18-month daughter to the hospital in an ambulance, only to be told to go
to an in-network hospital. By the time they reach the second hospital, her
daughter has stopped breathing and dies 30 minutes later in ER.
o A woman with Blue Shield of California has a
tumor but is denied requests to get an MRI, or to see a specialist. While
on vacation in Japan she is given an MRI, and eventually returns
to the U.S. to demand treatment from her insurer.
* In the ensuing court case, a doctor admits to
denying her request without having reviewed it.
o Blue Cross of California approves one
woman's $7,500 treatment, but the approval is later denied for her
failure to report a previous medical incident - a yeast infection.
* "They're just looking for a way
out," she says
* Other examples of how health insurers avoid
paying for treatment:
o One graph (from Humana) shows that doctors with
the highest % of denials get a bonus.
o Michael Moore interviews a former health
insurance employee who specialized in denying care to patients
retroactively - by finding inconsistencies in their medical records.
o A 5-minute piece in the beginning of the movie .
* The film also focuses on the politicians and the
funds they raise from Pharma and other player in the health care industry
and alleges that the system has been heavily influenced by lobbyists and
contributions.
Barclay Fitzpatrick
Vice President
Corporate Communications
Capital BlueCross
(w) 717-541-7752
(c) 717-329-3648
barclay.fitzpatrick@capbluecross.com
MichaelMooreTalkingPoints61807.doc
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
Talking Points in Response to Michael Moore's "Sicko"
June 2007
1) The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
(BCBSA) and the 39 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are committed to
improving the U.S. healthcare system for our nearly 100 million
members through continuous innovation that reflects the ever-changing
healthcare landscape and the needs of the consumer.
2) The Blues recognize the need for improvement of
both the coverage and delivery of healthcare. But the divisive tone set
forth by Michael Moore and his movie "Sicko" is not helpful.
Positive change to our healthcare system can be best achieved through
shared responsibility, not recrimination. To ensure Americans have access
to the best healthcare that is both timely, efficient, and of high
quality, requires the collective contribution of all stakeholders --
consumers, providers, employers and the government.
3) The Blues participation in the Health Coverage
Coalition for the Uninsured is a primary example of how the broader
healthcare community is working together to reduce the number of uninsured
in the United States.
4) The Blues are working on myriad initiatives
that ensure Americans have access to quality and affordable healthcare.
Each day, Blue Plans across the country are bringing healthcare value to
their members in a number of ways such as new advances in health
information technology and greater access to cost and quality information.
In addition:
o The Blues recently created Blue Health
Intelligence a data resource that will shine light on emerging medical
trends and treatment options in an unprecedented way. To further the use
of evidenced-based medicine, BCBSA has called upon Congress to establish
an independent, payer-funded institute that will study the comparative
effectiveness of new and existing medical treatments and procedures.
o Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are at the
forefront of healthcare transparency by providing their members with
online access to real-time information related to provider quality and the
cost of common healthcare services. In addition, the Blues have committed
to making personal health records available to their members by 2008.
o We are working to ensure that Medicare is funded
appropriately and that seniors continue to have access to comprehensive
benefits.
5) The Blues are proud of these efforts and we
will continue to work with consumers, providers, employers and the
government to provide Americans with the healthcare services and
information they need to lead full, healthy lives.
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