The Health Care industry is justifiably afraid of the impact that SiCKO can have on the American public. The multi-millionaire CEOs know that their policies kill thousands of people every year. Being the greedy bastards that they are, there is an effort to circumvent Moore by counter-attacking his assertions in the movie. However, Michael seemed to get his hands on a document that outlines the beginnings of a strategy.
From RawStory:
Oscar winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has published a memo written by a health insurance company executive on how to respond to his new film, 'Sicko,' which criticizes shortcomings in America's current system of private medical insurance."[T]he impact on small business decision makers, our members, the community, and our employees could be significant," wrote Barclay Fitzpatrick, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Capital Blue Cross. "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."
(snip)
"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," he wrote.Fitzpatrick ends his memo by including a set of talking points written by the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association to rebut key claims in Sicko. He was particularly concerned with the lumping of the not-for-profit Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurers in with for profit providers like Kaiser Permanente and Humana.
Moore has other ideas though. He called on Fitzpatrick to bring out his CEO to debate him in public on the facts. If they feel so strongly that Moore is misleading the public, then it should be a no-brainer to come out and assert their truth. Of course back in the land of reality, I doubt that day of debate will ever come.
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