Robert Fromberg
Editor-in-Chief, HFMA
Scattered reports are emerging about Sicko, Michael Moore's forthcoming film about the U.S. healthcare system. Moore showed excerpts from the work in progress recently at the Toronto Film Festival. Moore says the film will be a comedy about the uninsured.
With Moore, you always assume there will be a prominent villain, and from what I can gather, pharmaceutical companies and HMOs are the likely candidates, more than providers. However, Moore says that the film "will not be necessarily what you think it's going to be," hinting he will explore underlying causes of the health system's problems.
That may be true, but it's hard to imagine that Moore won't be taking some shots at people and institutions. I hope that the healthcare industry's response will not be too defensive. As painful as the film may be for those who work in health care, it will likely create some momentum in the discussion of a vitally important issue. I hope the industry's reaction is not to start with no, pointing out inaccuracy or unfairness, but to say, yes, the system is indeed broken, we're glad this film puts more attention on the problems, and here are the steps that need to be taken to bring about change.
On the other side of the publicity-about-health-care coin, prominent sports writer Peter Gammons, who suffered a brain aneurysm in June, is back at work, and his first piece is an eloquent thank-you note to the healthcare profession. In an era of scrutiny and criticism, it's always nice to read words of appreciation.
