1 00:00:16,116 --> 00:00:19,108 (applause and cheering) 2 00:00:23,323 --> 00:00:25,587 We got issue in America. 3 00:00:25,658 --> 00:00:28,593 Too many good docs are getting out of business. 4 00:00:28,661 --> 00:00:34,258 Too many ob-gyns aren't able to practice their love with women across this country. 5 00:00:42,242 --> 00:00:47,441 I don't have a job. I don't want to have any more debt out to anybody else. 6 00:00:47,514 --> 00:00:49,607 I'm flushing the wound. 7 00:00:50,216 --> 00:00:52,707 (man) This is Adam. 8 00:01:04,898 --> 00:01:07,389 He had an accident. 9 00:01:18,411 --> 00:01:24,213 He's one of nearly 50 million Americans with no health insurance. 10 00:01:36,629 --> 00:01:39,223 But this film isn't about Adam. 11 00:01:43,436 --> 00:01:46,928 So this is the table saw. It was spinning that way... 12 00:01:47,006 --> 00:01:48,997 (man) This is Rick. 13 00:01:52,312 --> 00:01:55,713 I was gripping a piece of wood and I grabbed it here and it hit a knot... 14 00:01:55,782 --> 00:02:00,082 (man) He sawed off the tops of to of his fingers. 15 00:02:00,153 --> 00:02:02,314 ...and it was that quick. 16 00:02:04,791 --> 00:02:07,817 - (man) His first thought? - I don't have insurance. 17 00:02:07,894 --> 00:02:11,159 Am I gonna have to pay cash for this? $ 2,000, $3,000 or more? 18 00:02:11,231 --> 00:02:14,530 Does that mean we're not gonna get a car? 19 00:02:15,668 --> 00:02:18,262 (man) Rick also doesn't have health coverage. 20 00:02:18,338 --> 00:02:20,602 So the hospital gave him a choice. 21 00:02:20,673 --> 00:02:24,404 Reattach the middle finger for $60.000. 22 00:02:24,477 --> 00:02:27,969 Or do the ring finger for 12.000. 23 00:02:28,047 --> 00:02:33,314 It's an awful feeling to just try to put a value on your body. 24 00:02:37,757 --> 00:02:41,921 (man) Being a hopeless romantic. Rick chose the ring finger. 25 00:02:41,995 --> 00:02:44,930 For the bargain price of 12 grand. 26 00:02:44,998 --> 00:02:50,903 The top of his middle finger now enjoys its new home in an Oregon landfill. 27 00:02:58,378 --> 00:03:03,247 I can do that thing where, you know, the old man used to pull the finger off. 28 00:03:08,721 --> 00:03:12,020 (man) This movie isn't about Rick either. 29 00:03:12,091 --> 00:03:16,221 Yes. There are nearly 50 million Americans with no health insurance. 30 00:03:16,296 --> 00:03:18,924 They pray every day they don't get sick. 31 00:03:18,998 --> 00:03:21,990 Because 18.000 of them will die this year. 32 00:03:22,068 --> 00:03:24,559 Simply because they're uninsured. 33 00:03:26,739 --> 00:03:29,367 But this movie isn't about them. 34 00:03:29,442 --> 00:03:34,539 It's about the 250 million of you who have health insurance. 35 00:03:34,614 --> 00:03:38,846 Those of you who are living the American Dream. 36 00:03:48,728 --> 00:03:53,722 It's moving day for Larry and Donna Smith. 37 00:03:57,837 --> 00:04:02,365 They've packed everything they own in these to cars. 38 00:04:03,776 --> 00:04:07,473 And are driving to Denver. Colorado. 39 00:04:08,481 --> 00:04:10,779 To their new home... 40 00:04:10,850 --> 00:04:12,841 - Hi. - Hello. 41 00:04:13,853 --> 00:04:16,014 ... in their daughter's storage room. 42 00:04:16,089 --> 00:04:18,284 This is home, sweet home. 43 00:04:20,159 --> 00:04:24,027 - Look at all that stuff. - We'll get everything organized. 44 00:04:24,097 --> 00:04:26,725 - We will. - What do we do with the computer? 45 00:04:26,799 --> 00:04:28,960 - It stays. - It stays there. 46 00:04:29,769 --> 00:04:34,604 So this is where Heather talked about we might have to put bunk beds. 47 00:04:34,674 --> 00:04:37,507 I see what she's talking about. 48 00:04:38,444 --> 00:04:42,904 (man) It wasn't supposed to end up like this for Larry and Donna. 49 00:04:42,982 --> 00:04:45,348 They both had good jobs. 50 00:04:46,352 --> 00:04:49,150 She was a newspaper editor. 51 00:04:49,222 --> 00:04:51,816 And he was a union machinist. 52 00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:59,053 They raised six kids who all went to fine schools like the University of Chicago. 53 00:04:59,132 --> 00:05:01,794 But Larry had a heart attack. 54 00:05:01,868 --> 00:05:04,234 And then another one. 55 00:05:04,470 --> 00:05:06,631 And then another one. 56 00:05:08,041 --> 00:05:10,532 And then Donna got cancer. 57 00:05:12,312 --> 00:05:14,906 And even though they had health insurance. 58 00:05:14,981 --> 00:05:18,610 The copays and deductibles soon added up 59 00:05:18,685 --> 00:05:22,678 to the point where they could no longer afford to keep their home. 60 00:05:22,755 --> 00:05:27,385 If somebody told me ten years ago this was gonna happen to us because of healthcare, 61 00:05:27,460 --> 00:05:29,860 I would have said, "It's not possible." 62 00:05:29,929 --> 00:05:35,458 "Not in the United States. We wouldn't let that happen to people." 63 00:05:39,305 --> 00:05:41,796 - (Larry) Are we gonna quit? - No. 64 00:05:42,709 --> 00:05:44,700 It's just hard. 65 00:05:45,511 --> 00:05:48,378 (man) They were bankrupt. 66 00:05:48,448 --> 00:05:50,973 So they moved in with their daughter. 67 00:05:51,050 --> 00:05:53,450 We'll get it all figured out. 68 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,311 We emptied the dresser so you have a spot. 69 00:05:56,389 --> 00:05:58,254 Nice, very nice. 70 00:06:01,260 --> 00:06:04,388 (man) Even their son Danny popped in from across town 71 00:06:04,464 --> 00:06:06,659 to welcome them to Denver. 72 00:06:06,733 --> 00:06:10,362 - What do we do about people like you? - I don't know, that's a good question. 73 00:06:10,436 --> 00:06:15,373 You're supposed to pay a deductible for $9,000, I understand. That's healthcare. 74 00:06:15,441 --> 00:06:18,410 What about people like Kathy and I that have to come up there 75 00:06:18,478 --> 00:06:21,572 and move you every five years, every two years, every year, 76 00:06:21,647 --> 00:06:25,014 - 'cause you don't have enough money? - That's what Russell says too. 77 00:06:25,084 --> 00:06:29,020 I'm sorry. It's not what we wanted to have happen in life. 78 00:06:29,088 --> 00:06:32,023 And we're doing what we can to make the change. 79 00:06:32,091 --> 00:06:36,960 You don't know what that feels like inside at 50-some years old, 80 00:06:37,029 --> 00:06:40,590 to have to reach out to my 20-something-year-old for help. 81 00:06:40,666 --> 00:06:45,569 It's gonna be hard for four, five, six, seven months, it's gonna be hard. 82 00:06:45,638 --> 00:06:51,770 I have a feeling of you bring your problems with you no matter where you go. 83 00:06:51,844 --> 00:06:54,074 Yeah. 84 00:06:54,147 --> 00:06:56,638 But I don't know what to do about that. 85 00:07:01,487 --> 00:07:04,650 (man) By sheer coincidence. Their daughter's husband. Paul. 86 00:07:04,724 --> 00:07:08,956 Was leaving on a job the very same day they arrived. 87 00:07:10,763 --> 00:07:14,597 Paul was a contractor. But there weren't many jobs lately. 88 00:07:14,667 --> 00:07:16,897 So he found work out of town. 89 00:07:16,969 --> 00:07:20,928 I'm sure you'll keep a telephone conversation. 90 00:07:21,007 --> 00:07:22,998 Email you. 91 00:07:27,413 --> 00:07:31,179 (Donna) You're gonna be just fine, lovies. 92 00:07:34,787 --> 00:07:36,778 Weird situation, isn't it? 93 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,389 - (man) Tell me where Daddy's going. - Iraq. 94 00:07:45,198 --> 00:07:47,462 Why is Daddy going to Iraq? 95 00:07:47,533 --> 00:07:49,694 To do some plumbing. 96 00:07:55,241 --> 00:07:57,539 Oh, boy. 97 00:07:58,945 --> 00:08:03,644 This I do early in the morning. The first thing I do is I clean here. 98 00:08:05,585 --> 00:08:10,852 (man) At age 79. Frank Cardile should be kicking back on a beach somewhere. 99 00:08:10,923 --> 00:08:14,017 But even though he's insured by Medicare. 100 00:08:14,093 --> 00:08:19,622 It doesn't cover all the cost of the drugs that he and his wife need. 101 00:08:22,401 --> 00:08:26,531 (Frank) Being that I'm an employee here, my medicine is for free. 102 00:08:26,606 --> 00:08:31,942 So that's why I gotta keep working. Until I die. 103 00:08:32,011 --> 00:08:34,377 There is nothing wrong with that. 104 00:08:34,447 --> 00:08:36,244 OK. 105 00:08:36,315 --> 00:08:40,149 I always gotta keep my ears open because there's always spillages. 106 00:08:40,219 --> 00:08:42,881 Sometimes you get a gallon of milk. 107 00:08:42,955 --> 00:08:49,360 Tomato sauce - oh, you're in trouble. It'll take a half-hour to clean that up. 108 00:08:49,428 --> 00:08:52,090 And I look up on every aisle so as everything is clean. 109 00:08:52,164 --> 00:08:56,931 If I see something I pick it up, whether it's paper or garbage. 110 00:08:58,371 --> 00:09:02,432 One day I had the keys in my hand and they went in there. 111 00:09:02,508 --> 00:09:05,841 And I had to climb in there to get the keys out. 112 00:09:09,348 --> 00:09:12,112 It's a sad situation. 113 00:09:13,019 --> 00:09:18,355 If there are golden years, I can't find 'em, I'll tell you that. 114 00:09:20,693 --> 00:09:23,059 She had a painkiller for her hip. 115 00:09:23,129 --> 00:09:27,862 The girl said, "Frank, this is $ 213." "What, for a painkiller?" 116 00:09:27,934 --> 00:09:31,961 - I didn't take it. - I backed off. I said, "I gotta come back." 117 00:09:32,038 --> 00:09:35,735 What's in them? What's in these new drugs that they distribute? 118 00:09:35,808 --> 00:09:38,572 I don't believe you need half of the things they tell you. 119 00:09:38,644 --> 00:09:42,842 I have never taken medication now, as I'm getting older. 120 00:09:42,915 --> 00:09:45,247 I don't even like to take an aspirin. 121 00:09:45,318 --> 00:09:47,479 I do like a little brandy. 122 00:09:52,692 --> 00:09:58,358 I don't really know how this happened, but the trunk came forward into the back seat. 123 00:09:58,431 --> 00:10:03,391 (man) Laura Burnham was in a head-on collision that knocked her out cold. 124 00:10:03,469 --> 00:10:08,099 Paramedics got her out of the car and into an ambulance for a trip to the hospital. 125 00:10:08,174 --> 00:10:11,075 I get a bill from my insurance company 126 00:10:11,143 --> 00:10:14,943 telling me that the ambulance ride was not going to be paid for, 127 00:10:15,014 --> 00:10:17,482 because it wasn't preapproved. 128 00:10:17,550 --> 00:10:21,145 I don't know exactly when I was supposed to preapprove it, you know? 129 00:10:21,220 --> 00:10:26,351 Like after I gain consciousness in the car, before I got in the ambulance? 130 00:10:26,425 --> 00:10:31,021 I should have grabbed my cellphone off the street and called in the ambulance? 131 00:10:31,097 --> 00:10:33,930 I mean, it's just crazy. 132 00:10:38,137 --> 00:10:40,731 (woman) I applied for HealthNet insurance for Jason. 133 00:10:40,806 --> 00:10:44,742 They rejected him because of his height and weight. 134 00:10:44,810 --> 00:10:48,041 Jason is six feet tall and 130 pounds. 135 00:10:52,018 --> 00:10:55,146 I applied for healthcare through BlueCross BlueShield 136 00:10:55,221 --> 00:10:58,850 and they told me that my body mass index was too high. 137 00:10:59,392 --> 00:11:02,054 I'm 5' 1 ", I weigh 175 pounds. 138 00:11:06,232 --> 00:11:11,169 (man) I always thought health insurance companies were there to help us. 139 00:11:11,237 --> 00:11:13,501 So I posted a note on the internet. 140 00:11:13,572 --> 00:11:16,439 Asking people if they had had any similar stories 141 00:11:16,509 --> 00:11:19,672 about problems with their insurance company. 142 00:11:21,180 --> 00:11:25,879 Within 24 hours. I had over 3700 responses. 143 00:11:25,951 --> 00:11:29,318 And by the end of the week. Over 25.000 people 144 00:11:29,388 --> 00:11:33,688 had sent me their healthcare horror stories. 145 00:11:34,226 --> 00:11:38,356 Some of them decided not to wait for me to get back to them. 146 00:11:38,431 --> 00:11:43,994 Like Doug Noe. Who took matters into his own hands. Without my permission. 147 00:11:45,438 --> 00:11:50,239 His daughter was nine months old when they discovered she was going deaf. 148 00:11:50,309 --> 00:11:52,607 His health insurance company. CIGNA. 149 00:11:52,678 --> 00:11:55,977 Said they'd pay for an implant in only one of her ears. 150 00:11:56,048 --> 00:11:58,107 According to the letter they sent. 151 00:11:58,184 --> 00:12:02,018 It's experimental for her to hear in to ears. 152 00:12:02,088 --> 00:12:05,580 If a cochlear implant is good for one ear, 153 00:12:05,658 --> 00:12:09,651 it doesn't even make any sense that it wouldn't be good for the second ear. 154 00:12:09,729 --> 00:12:13,392 Especially when a child is just starting to learn how to talk, 155 00:12:13,466 --> 00:12:17,061 she has to learn from both sides of her head. 156 00:12:19,071 --> 00:12:21,904 (Moore) That's when he sat down to write CIGNA a letter. 157 00:12:21,974 --> 00:12:25,637 This is to CIGNA. "Noted filmmaker Michael Moore 158 00:12:25,711 --> 00:12:28,771 is in the process of gathering information for his next film." 159 00:12:28,848 --> 00:12:33,217 "I've sent information concerning CIGNA's lack of caring for its policy holders." 160 00:12:33,285 --> 00:12:36,686 "Has your CEO ever been in a film before?" 161 00:12:38,124 --> 00:12:43,460 (Moore) Before he knew it. He received a call on his voice mail from CIGNA. 162 00:12:43,529 --> 00:12:46,498 (answerphone) Tuesday. 8.:54 am. 163 00:13:06,285 --> 00:13:11,746 Obviously all this worked because Annette is going to get her second implant in July. 164 00:13:11,824 --> 00:13:14,156 (woman) "Dear Mike. I work in the industry. " 165 00:13:14,226 --> 00:13:15,921 (woman #2) "I work for an HMO." 166 00:13:15,995 --> 00:13:19,396 (Moore) I started to get hundreds of letters of a different sort 167 00:13:19,465 --> 00:13:22,923 from people who work inside the healthcare industry. 168 00:13:23,002 --> 00:13:27,234 They'd seen everything and they were fed up with it. 169 00:13:27,306 --> 00:13:30,571 (man #2) "Health insurance companies suck. Flat suck. " 170 00:13:30,643 --> 00:13:35,137 (Moore) Like Becky Malke. Who was in charge of keeping sick people away 171 00:13:35,214 --> 00:13:38,012 from one of America's top insurance companies. 172 00:13:38,083 --> 00:13:42,383 (Becky) I work in a call center, so people call in and ask for insurance quotes. 173 00:13:42,454 --> 00:13:46,322 There are certain preexisting conditions, basically industry-wide, 174 00:13:46,392 --> 00:13:48,053 that will not be covered - 175 00:13:48,127 --> 00:13:52,188 diabetes, heart disease, certain forms of cancer. 176 00:13:52,264 --> 00:13:56,894 If you have these conditions, you are likely not going to get your health insurance. 177 00:13:56,969 --> 00:14:00,461 (Moore) How long is this list of conditions that make you ineligible? 178 00:14:00,539 --> 00:14:04,839 It would be a really long list. It would be a long list. 179 00:14:04,910 --> 00:14:07,572 It could wrap around this house. 180 00:14:13,352 --> 00:14:15,946 (# "Star Wars" theme plays) 181 00:14:33,239 --> 00:14:37,107 Sometimes you know they're gonna be declined at the end of the application, 182 00:14:37,176 --> 00:14:42,239 and they're like... God, like one time I had a couple, 183 00:14:42,314 --> 00:14:44,544 and they were so happy to get... I'm gonna cry. 184 00:14:44,617 --> 00:14:49,748 They were so happy that they were... I took them through this application. 185 00:14:49,822 --> 00:14:53,280 And the husband was late for work. 186 00:14:53,359 --> 00:14:56,988 And the wife said to him, "Don't worry, baby, it's gonna be OK." 187 00:14:57,062 --> 00:14:59,121 "We have health insurance now." 188 00:14:59,198 --> 00:15:02,326 And when I looked, I could tell they were gonna get declined 189 00:15:02,401 --> 00:15:05,837 because of their health conditions. And they were so happy. 190 00:15:05,905 --> 00:15:08,965 I thought, "God, they're gonna get that call in a couple of weeks 191 00:15:09,041 --> 00:15:13,603 telling them that they're not eligible for insurance." 192 00:15:13,679 --> 00:15:16,045 I just felt so bad 'cause I just really thought 193 00:15:16,115 --> 00:15:19,380 and I knew and I couldn't say anything to them. 194 00:15:19,852 --> 00:15:21,843 I just felt like crap. 195 00:15:21,921 --> 00:15:24,355 That's why I'm such a bitch on the phone to people, 196 00:15:24,423 --> 00:15:27,085 because I don't wanna get to know them, 197 00:15:27,159 --> 00:15:30,390 I don't wanna know about their lives, I just wanna get in and out, 198 00:15:30,462 --> 00:15:35,092 and get done with it 'cause I can't take the stress of it. 199 00:15:35,167 --> 00:15:38,967 (Moore) In spite of Becky being a bit of a pain on the phone. 200 00:15:39,038 --> 00:15:44,772 A quarter billion Americans are still able to get health insurance. 201 00:15:46,979 --> 00:15:51,075 Let's meet some of these happy insured customers. 202 00:15:51,150 --> 00:15:53,141 Maria has BlueShield. 203 00:15:53,218 --> 00:15:55,448 And Diane. Horizon BlueCross. 204 00:15:55,988 --> 00:15:58,081 BCS insures Laurel. 205 00:15:58,157 --> 00:16:01,422 And Caroline has CIGNA. 206 00:16:01,493 --> 00:16:04,462 And it's a good thing that they're all fully covered. 207 00:16:04,530 --> 00:16:08,091 I ended up being diagnosed with retroperitoneal cancer. 208 00:16:08,167 --> 00:16:09,964 - Brain tumor. - Breast cancer. 209 00:16:10,035 --> 00:16:11,935 Brain tumor on the right temporal lobe. 210 00:16:12,004 --> 00:16:16,668 (Moore) As they were insured. They got the red-carpet treatment at the doctor's office. 211 00:16:16,742 --> 00:16:20,769 She requested for me to see a neurologist. 212 00:16:20,846 --> 00:16:22,939 The way they would treat it was to remove it. 213 00:16:23,015 --> 00:16:24,880 Surgery was scheduled for December 9. 214 00:16:24,950 --> 00:16:27,350 There is a test that you can take 215 00:16:27,419 --> 00:16:32,379 that will show whether or not you would benefit from chemo. 216 00:16:32,458 --> 00:16:36,861 (Moore) They got their treatment. But not before battling their insurance companies. 217 00:16:36,929 --> 00:16:39,955 Investigated whether or not this was a preexisting condition. 218 00:16:40,032 --> 00:16:41,863 "It's not medically necessary." 219 00:16:41,934 --> 00:16:43,959 They claim that it's experimental. 220 00:16:44,036 --> 00:16:46,334 "We don't consider that life-threatening." 221 00:16:46,405 --> 00:16:49,806 (Moore) Diane died from her non life-threatening tumor. 222 00:16:49,875 --> 00:16:52,901 Laurel's cancer is now spread throughout her body. 223 00:16:52,978 --> 00:16:57,347 Her "experimental test" proved that Caroline needed chemo. 224 00:16:57,416 --> 00:17:00,647 While vacationing in Japan. Maria became ill 225 00:17:00,719 --> 00:17:06,248 and got the MRI that BlueShield of California had refused to approve. 226 00:17:06,325 --> 00:17:09,624 The doctors in Japan told her she had a brain tumor. 227 00:17:10,329 --> 00:17:13,662 BlueShield had said repeatedly she didn't have a tumor. 228 00:17:13,732 --> 00:17:18,931 That's when she said: "Well. I'm pretty sure I have a lawyer." 229 00:17:20,172 --> 00:17:23,266 (man #3) March 13, 2003. 230 00:17:23,342 --> 00:17:26,539 I'm gonna direct your attention to exhibit one. 231 00:17:26,612 --> 00:17:29,137 Please describe for me what it is. 232 00:17:29,214 --> 00:17:35,813 It is a denial for referral to an ophthalmologist. 233 00:17:35,888 --> 00:17:39,119 - (man #3) Is it your signature on this? - Yes. 234 00:17:39,191 --> 00:17:42,217 (man #3) I'd like to direct your attention to exhibit two. 235 00:17:42,294 --> 00:17:46,731 This is a denial of a request for referral 236 00:17:46,799 --> 00:17:50,530 for a magnetic resonance imaging test of the brain. 237 00:17:50,602 --> 00:17:52,627 - (man #3) It has your signature? - Yes. 238 00:17:52,704 --> 00:17:56,800 (man #3) Directing your attention to exhibit three. Please read this document. 239 00:17:56,875 --> 00:18:03,007 This is a denial of a referral to a neurosurgeon. 240 00:18:03,082 --> 00:18:08,987 (man #3) Can you explain for me how you came to sign the denial letter? 241 00:18:09,054 --> 00:18:11,989 This is a standard signature put on all denial letters. 242 00:18:12,057 --> 00:18:15,618 - (man #3) Is it your signature or a stamp? - That is a stamp. 243 00:18:15,694 --> 00:18:22,463 (man #3) Did you ever see a denial letter before your signature was stamped on it? 244 00:18:22,534 --> 00:18:27,028 No, but the denial letters are fundamentally the same. 245 00:18:27,106 --> 00:18:29,700 The denial letters that are sent out... 246 00:18:29,775 --> 00:18:32,938 - (man #3) The answer is no. - No. All right. 247 00:18:33,745 --> 00:18:38,512 The definition of a good director was somebody who saves the company money. 248 00:18:38,584 --> 00:18:42,884 (Moore) Dr. Linda Peeno was a medical reviewer for Humana. 249 00:18:42,955 --> 00:18:47,119 She left her job because she didn't like their way of doing business. 250 00:18:47,192 --> 00:18:51,060 (Dr. Peeno) I was told when I started that I had to keep a 10% denial. 251 00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:55,931 Then they were giving us reports weekly that would have all the cases we reviewed, 252 00:18:56,001 --> 00:18:58,265 the percent approved and the percent denied. 253 00:18:58,337 --> 00:19:01,170 And our actual percentage denial rate. 254 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,802 Then there would be another report that compared me to all the other reviewers. 255 00:19:05,878 --> 00:19:09,439 The doctor with the highest percent of denials was gonna get a bonus. 256 00:19:09,515 --> 00:19:13,007 (Moore) Really? So you, as a doctor, working for the HMO, 257 00:19:13,085 --> 00:19:16,452 if you denied more people healthcare, you got a bonus? 258 00:19:16,522 --> 00:19:18,456 (Dr. Peeno) That was how they set it up. 259 00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:22,756 Any payment for a claim is referred to as a medical loss. 260 00:19:22,828 --> 00:19:25,228 That's the terminology the industry uses. 261 00:19:25,297 --> 00:19:28,960 I mean, when you don't spend money on somebody, you deny their care, 262 00:19:29,034 --> 00:19:33,368 or you make a decision that brings money in and you don't have to spend it, 263 00:19:33,438 --> 00:19:35,929 it's a savings to the company. 264 00:19:37,843 --> 00:19:40,311 (Moore) This is Tarsha Harris. 265 00:19:40,379 --> 00:19:42,711 BlueCross didn't deny her her treatment. 266 00:19:42,781 --> 00:19:45,978 And actually approved her operation. 267 00:19:47,286 --> 00:19:51,086 But then they discovered that in the distant past. 268 00:19:51,156 --> 00:19:54,387 She had had a yeast infection. 269 00:19:56,728 --> 00:20:00,664 Apparently it's common. Men, women can get a yeast infection. 270 00:20:00,732 --> 00:20:07,262 So I was prescribed the yeast infection cream, general cream, and it went away. 271 00:20:08,073 --> 00:20:10,064 She later applied for health insurance 272 00:20:10,142 --> 00:20:14,272 and that's what you're supposed to be disclosing - serious ailments. 273 00:20:14,346 --> 00:20:19,807 The yeast infection is not a serious ailment. There was nothing she could have done. 274 00:20:19,885 --> 00:20:23,480 It wasn't until they were gonna have to spend money that they looked. 275 00:20:23,555 --> 00:20:27,082 If they'd taken five minutes and wanted to clear up the yeast infection, 276 00:20:27,159 --> 00:20:30,185 they could've looked at her records or talked to her doctor. 277 00:20:30,262 --> 00:20:33,459 (Moore) Because of the undisclosed yeast infection. 278 00:20:33,532 --> 00:20:36,126 BlueCross dropped Tarsha Harris. 279 00:20:36,201 --> 00:20:40,797 She thinks she's put this behind her. And then BlueCross changes their mind, 280 00:20:40,872 --> 00:20:45,707 tells the doctors, "We're taking the money back, go get the money from Tarsha." 281 00:20:45,777 --> 00:20:51,738 The fact of the matter is it was a yeast infection, that's all it was. 282 00:20:51,817 --> 00:20:55,412 I'm still a little bitter because I don't trust insurance companies now. 283 00:20:55,487 --> 00:20:59,753 To me, it seems they're always gonna be looking for a way out. 284 00:20:59,825 --> 00:21:02,293 What happened to helping the person that's sick? 285 00:21:02,361 --> 00:21:05,057 Don't make their problems worse. 286 00:21:06,598 --> 00:21:08,930 (Moore) This is Lee Einer. 287 00:21:09,001 --> 00:21:12,903 If they weren't able to weed you out in the application process. 288 00:21:12,971 --> 00:21:16,372 Or deny you the care your doctor said you needed. 289 00:21:16,441 --> 00:21:19,933 And somehow ended up paying for the operation. 290 00:21:20,812 --> 00:21:23,906 They send in Lee. Their hitman. 291 00:21:23,982 --> 00:21:28,851 His job is to get the company's money back any way he can. 292 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:33,220 All he has to do is find one slip-up on your application. 293 00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:37,126 Or a preexisting condition you didn't know you had. 294 00:21:37,195 --> 00:21:40,926 We're gonna go after this like it's a murder case. 295 00:21:40,999 --> 00:21:43,559 And I mean the whole unit dedicated to 296 00:21:43,635 --> 00:21:47,571 going through your health history for the last five years, 297 00:21:47,639 --> 00:21:50,369 looking for anything that would indicate 298 00:21:50,442 --> 00:21:54,173 that you concealed something, you misrepresented something, 299 00:21:54,246 --> 00:21:56,976 so that they can cancel the policy 300 00:21:57,049 --> 00:22:00,485 or jack the rates so high that you can't pay them. 301 00:22:01,687 --> 00:22:05,817 And if we couldn't find anything you didn't disclose on the application, 302 00:22:05,891 --> 00:22:09,850 you can still get hit with a preexisting denial, 303 00:22:09,928 --> 00:22:13,591 because you don't even have to have sought medical treatment for it. 304 00:22:13,665 --> 00:22:18,568 In some states, it's legal to have a prudent person preexisting condition. 305 00:22:18,637 --> 00:22:20,662 And that's a mouthful, I know, 306 00:22:20,739 --> 00:22:24,937 but what that says is if prior to your insurance kicking in, 307 00:22:25,010 --> 00:22:30,812 you had any symptom which would incline a normally prudent person 308 00:22:30,882 --> 00:22:33,851 to have sought medical care, 309 00:22:33,919 --> 00:22:40,085 then the condition of which that symptom was a symptom is excluded. 310 00:22:43,362 --> 00:22:45,193 I know! 311 00:22:45,964 --> 00:22:49,695 It's labyrinthine, isn't it? But that's how it works. 312 00:22:50,268 --> 00:22:52,327 They're supposed to be even-handed, 313 00:22:52,404 --> 00:22:55,999 but with an insurance company, it's their frigging money! 314 00:22:56,074 --> 00:23:00,511 So it's not unintentional, it's not a mistake, 315 00:23:00,579 --> 00:23:04,481 it's not an oversight, you're not slipping through the cracks. 316 00:23:04,549 --> 00:23:09,179 Somebody made that crack and swept you towards it. 317 00:23:09,254 --> 00:23:12,883 And the intent is to maximize profits. 318 00:23:14,025 --> 00:23:17,256 Looking back, I don't know that I killed anybody. 319 00:23:17,329 --> 00:23:19,854 Did I do harm in people's lives? 320 00:23:19,931 --> 00:23:22,593 Yeah. Hell, yeah. 321 00:23:25,404 --> 00:23:28,202 I haven't worked for insurance companies for a long time, 322 00:23:28,273 --> 00:23:32,539 and I don't think that really serves to atone 323 00:23:32,611 --> 00:23:36,775 for my participation in that mess. 324 00:23:38,350 --> 00:23:40,841 I am glad I'm out of it, though. 325 00:23:43,989 --> 00:23:48,187 (Moore) Julie Pierce was struggling to get care for her husband Tracy. 326 00:23:48,260 --> 00:23:51,627 Who was suffering from kidney cancer. 327 00:23:51,696 --> 00:23:55,530 Julie works in the intensive care unit at St. Joseph's Medical Center 328 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:57,864 in Kansas City. Missouri. 329 00:23:57,936 --> 00:24:00,871 Which provided her family with health insurance. 330 00:24:00,939 --> 00:24:04,500 Every month, there was a new drug that the doctor wanted to try. 331 00:24:04,576 --> 00:24:09,878 My insurance denied it. One letter might say, "not a medical necessity," 332 00:24:09,948 --> 00:24:15,011 one letter might say, "it's not for this particular type of cancer," 333 00:24:15,086 --> 00:24:17,611 and they denied it. 334 00:24:17,689 --> 00:24:21,989 Then we came up with the bone marrow. It has showed to stop it, 335 00:24:22,060 --> 00:24:25,496 sometimes to completely get rid of it. 336 00:24:25,564 --> 00:24:29,261 (Moore) Tracy's doctors said this treatment had been successfully tried 337 00:24:29,334 --> 00:24:31,666 on many other patients. 338 00:24:32,404 --> 00:24:36,204 If one of Tracy's brothers turned out to be a suitable donor. 339 00:24:36,274 --> 00:24:42,645 There were promising bone marrow treatments for beating Tracy's cancer. 340 00:24:42,714 --> 00:24:46,741 Two weeks later, the bone marrow nurse at KU called me and she goes: 341 00:24:46,818 --> 00:24:51,778 "We've got the results back. His youngest brother is a perfect donor match." 342 00:24:51,857 --> 00:24:53,984 We were ecstatic. 343 00:24:54,059 --> 00:24:58,291 You know, I think that's the happiest I had seen him... 344 00:25:00,632 --> 00:25:03,157 in a while. 345 00:25:03,235 --> 00:25:07,604 So we submitted it and they denied it. 346 00:25:07,672 --> 00:25:09,697 Said it was "experimental." 347 00:25:11,076 --> 00:25:15,103 So I found out that there is a board of trustees over our medical plan 348 00:25:15,180 --> 00:25:17,171 that actually work at my hospital. 349 00:25:17,249 --> 00:25:22,687 And they are the final decision-makers on what gets approved and what doesn't. 350 00:25:22,754 --> 00:25:26,121 (Moore) Julie and her husband and their son. Tracy Junior. 351 00:25:26,191 --> 00:25:29,718 Demanded a meeting with the health plan's board of trustees. 352 00:25:29,794 --> 00:25:33,730 The very people who had the power to approve their claim. 353 00:25:33,798 --> 00:25:37,825 They told Julie that they were sympathetic to her situation. 354 00:25:37,903 --> 00:25:41,862 I said, "Your sympathy does me no good when I'm burying him next year." 355 00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:47,640 And I told them, I said if I was... Bruce van Cleve was our CEO. 356 00:25:47,712 --> 00:25:53,810 I said, "I bet if it was Bruce van Cleve's wife, it would get approved." 357 00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:56,012 "No, it's nothing like that." 358 00:25:56,087 --> 00:25:58,749 I said, "Or maybe if my husband was white." 359 00:25:58,823 --> 00:26:01,223 And I got up and walked out of the room. 360 00:26:02,460 --> 00:26:06,760 When we got home, I found him up in the bathroom. 361 00:26:06,831 --> 00:26:12,235 And I knocked on the door and said, "What are you doing in there?" "Nothing." 362 00:26:12,304 --> 00:26:16,764 I opened the door 'cause usually he'll say: "What do you think I'm doing in here?" 363 00:26:16,841 --> 00:26:20,538 And he was sitting in there and he was crying. 364 00:26:21,646 --> 00:26:25,241 And he said, "Why me? I'm a good person." 365 00:26:25,817 --> 00:26:29,275 And I said, "But we're not done fighting this." 366 00:26:29,354 --> 00:26:33,814 "We're strong, yeah." And then he said... 367 00:26:33,892 --> 00:26:37,726 You know, he goes, "I can see now that I'm gonna die." 368 00:26:37,796 --> 00:26:43,928 He said, "I can leave everything, but I don't want to leave you and Tracy." 369 00:26:48,306 --> 00:26:51,935 The doctor told me he would die in three weeks. 370 00:26:52,010 --> 00:26:54,001 And... 371 00:26:55,547 --> 00:26:58,846 On January 13th, which was my birthday, 372 00:26:59,718 --> 00:27:01,709 he went to sleep. 373 00:27:03,221 --> 00:27:06,315 And he died five days later, here at home. 374 00:27:07,626 --> 00:27:10,117 He was my best friend. 375 00:27:10,996 --> 00:27:14,830 He was my soul mate. He was my son's father. 376 00:27:17,135 --> 00:27:19,729 I mean, we were to grow old together. 377 00:27:21,072 --> 00:27:24,473 They took away everything that matters. 378 00:27:26,845 --> 00:27:30,008 I wanna know why, why my husband? 379 00:27:31,583 --> 00:27:34,780 Why wasn't he given the chance to live? 380 00:27:36,187 --> 00:27:40,590 You preach these vision and values that we care for the sick, the dying, the poor. 381 00:27:40,659 --> 00:27:44,493 That we're a healthcare that leaves no one behind. 382 00:27:44,562 --> 00:27:48,726 You left him behind. You didn't even give him a start. 383 00:27:49,868 --> 00:27:52,029 It was as if he was nothing. 384 00:27:53,505 --> 00:27:56,201 And I want them to have a conscience about it. 385 00:27:56,274 --> 00:28:01,610 And I don't think they do. I don't think it has fazed them one bit. 386 00:28:03,281 --> 00:28:05,272 At all. 387 00:28:07,852 --> 00:28:10,514 (Moore) There was one person in the healthcare industry 388 00:28:10,588 --> 00:28:12,681 who did have a conscience. 389 00:28:12,757 --> 00:28:17,854 Dr. Linda Peeno. A former medical reviewer at Humana. 390 00:28:17,929 --> 00:28:19,419 My name is Linda Peeno. 391 00:28:19,964 --> 00:28:24,333 I am here today to make a public confession. 392 00:28:24,402 --> 00:28:28,805 In the spring of 1987, as a physician, 393 00:28:28,873 --> 00:28:32,104 I denied a man a necessary operation 394 00:28:32,177 --> 00:28:36,705 that would have saved his life, and thus caused his death. 395 00:28:37,482 --> 00:28:41,077 No person and no group has held me accountable for this, 396 00:28:41,152 --> 00:28:47,819 because, in fact, what I did was I saved the company a half a million dollars for this. 397 00:28:47,892 --> 00:28:51,419 And, furthermore, this particular act secured my reputation 398 00:28:51,496 --> 00:28:53,964 as a good medical director, 399 00:28:54,032 --> 00:28:58,093 and it insured my continued advancement in the healthcare field. 400 00:28:58,169 --> 00:29:02,162 I went from making a few hundred dollars a week as a medical reviewer 401 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:07,371 to an escalating six-figure income as a physician executive. 402 00:29:07,445 --> 00:29:13,213 In all my work, I had one primary duty, and that was to use my medical expertise 403 00:29:13,284 --> 00:29:17,721 for the financial benefit of the organization for which I worked. 404 00:29:17,789 --> 00:29:21,316 And I was told repeatedly that I was not denying care, 405 00:29:21,392 --> 00:29:23,758 I was simply denying payment. 406 00:29:23,828 --> 00:29:27,093 I know how managed care maims and kills patients. 407 00:29:27,165 --> 00:29:30,931 So I'm here to tell you about the dirty work of managed care. 408 00:29:31,002 --> 00:29:33,596 And I'm haunted by the thousands of pieces of paper 409 00:29:33,671 --> 00:29:36,902 on which I have written that deadly word - "denied." 410 00:29:36,975 --> 00:29:38,272 Thank you. 411 00:29:42,580 --> 00:29:47,108 (Moore) How did we get to the point of doctors at health insurance companies 412 00:29:47,185 --> 00:29:51,918 actually being responsible for the deaths of patients? 413 00:29:53,224 --> 00:29:55,556 Who invented this system? 414 00:29:57,295 --> 00:29:59,286 How did this all begin? 415 00:30:02,233 --> 00:30:04,667 Where did the HMO start? 416 00:30:09,174 --> 00:30:13,201 Thanks to the wonders of magnetic tape. We know. 417 00:31:15,173 --> 00:31:19,974 I am proposing today a new national health strategy. 418 00:31:20,044 --> 00:31:23,104 The purpose of this program is simply this - 419 00:31:23,181 --> 00:31:26,912 I want America to have the finest healthcare in the world, 420 00:31:26,985 --> 00:31:32,719 and I want every American to be able to have that care when he needs it. 421 00:31:34,125 --> 00:31:38,255 (Moore) The plan hatched beteen Nixon and Edgar Kaiser worked. 422 00:31:38,329 --> 00:31:42,390 In the ensuing years. Patients were given less and less care... 423 00:31:42,467 --> 00:31:47,370 (reporter) Bigger logjams at the nearby hospital and less quality medical care. 424 00:31:47,438 --> 00:31:50,271 Been here about 18 hours, since 7:00 this morning. 425 00:31:50,341 --> 00:31:54,300 (reporter) What looks cramped and unsightly can also be dangerous. 426 00:31:54,379 --> 00:31:57,576 (Moore)... while health insurance companies became wealthy. 427 00:31:57,649 --> 00:31:59,708 The system was broken. 428 00:31:59,784 --> 00:32:03,948 37 million Americans are without protection against catastrophic illness. 429 00:32:04,022 --> 00:32:08,391 (reporter #2) The losers are the poor. Who may now postpone urgent healthcare 430 00:32:08,459 --> 00:32:10,359 until it's too late. 431 00:32:10,428 --> 00:32:12,988 (Moore) This went on for years. 432 00:32:13,064 --> 00:32:15,760 Until this man rode into town. 433 00:32:16,701 --> 00:32:19,226 Bringing with him his little lady. 434 00:32:19,304 --> 00:32:22,796 (# "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers) 435 00:32:25,843 --> 00:32:27,834 (Moore) Sassy. 436 00:32:29,580 --> 00:32:31,571 Smart. 437 00:32:34,585 --> 00:32:36,576 Sexy. 438 00:32:39,557 --> 00:32:41,957 Some men couldn't handle it. 439 00:32:42,860 --> 00:32:45,158 Today I am announcing the formation 440 00:32:45,229 --> 00:32:48,528 of the President's Task Force on National Health Reform, 441 00:32:48,599 --> 00:32:51,625 chaired by the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. 442 00:32:51,703 --> 00:32:56,970 (Moore) Hillary Clinton decided to make healthcare for everyone her top priority. 443 00:32:57,041 --> 00:32:59,874 Universal coverage now. 444 00:32:59,944 --> 00:33:02,674 It will not depend upon where you work, whether you work, 445 00:33:02,747 --> 00:33:04,715 or if you have a preexisting condition. 446 00:33:04,782 --> 00:33:07,717 Healthcare that can never be taken away. 447 00:33:07,785 --> 00:33:12,449 (reporter #3) Some Republicans complain Mrs. Clinton is getting a free ride. 448 00:33:12,523 --> 00:33:15,788 It's fairly risky business what President Clinton did, 449 00:33:15,860 --> 00:33:19,455 to put his wife in charge of some big policy program. 450 00:33:19,530 --> 00:33:22,727 And while I don't share the chairman's joy at our holding hearings 451 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,327 on a government-run healthcare system, 452 00:33:26,404 --> 00:33:30,170 I do share his intention to make the debate and the legislative process 453 00:33:30,241 --> 00:33:35,076 - as exciting as possible. - I'm sure you will do that, Mr. Armey. 454 00:33:35,146 --> 00:33:39,981 - We'll do the best we can. - You and Dr. Kevorkian, I think. 455 00:33:44,589 --> 00:33:49,549 I have been told about your charm and wit, and let me say... 456 00:33:49,627 --> 00:33:52,721 Reports on your charm are overstated 457 00:33:52,797 --> 00:33:57,029 - and reports on your wit are understated. - Thank you. Thank you very much. 458 00:33:57,702 --> 00:34:00,603 (Moore) She drove Washington insane. 459 00:34:00,671 --> 00:34:03,367 Do you want the government to control your healthcare? 460 00:34:03,441 --> 00:34:05,739 You won't have the choice of your own doctors. 461 00:34:05,810 --> 00:34:07,710 - Less government. - More control. 462 00:34:07,779 --> 00:34:10,373 - More government. - Less control for you and your family. 463 00:34:10,448 --> 00:34:14,612 When your mama gets sick, she might talk to a bureaucrat instead of a doctor. 464 00:34:14,685 --> 00:34:17,779 This is a total mess, and it's about to get messier. 465 00:34:17,855 --> 00:34:20,790 Not this bureaucratic, socialistic plan that they have. 466 00:34:20,858 --> 00:34:23,349 - Socialist takeover... - Socialized medicine. 467 00:34:23,428 --> 00:34:27,728 What really amounts to a giant social experiment. 468 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:32,397 (Moore) Ooh! Socialized medicine. 469 00:34:32,470 --> 00:34:36,839 Nothing put more fear in us than the thought of that. 470 00:34:36,908 --> 00:34:40,400 And the chief fearmongers against socialized medicine 471 00:34:40,478 --> 00:34:43,140 have always been the good doctors 472 00:34:43,214 --> 00:34:45,205 of the American Medical Association. 473 00:34:45,283 --> 00:34:48,480 (man #4) This would put the government smack into your hospital, 474 00:34:48,553 --> 00:34:51,852 defining services, setting standards, 475 00:34:51,923 --> 00:34:55,188 establishing committees, calling for reports, 476 00:34:55,259 --> 00:34:57,625 deciding who gets in and who gets out. 477 00:34:57,695 --> 00:35:01,791 After all, the government has to treat everyone fair and equal, don't you know? 478 00:35:01,866 --> 00:35:06,803 Take us all the way down the road to a new system of medicine for everybody. 479 00:35:06,871 --> 00:35:09,806 (Moore) Yes. Medicine for everyone. 480 00:35:09,874 --> 00:35:12,138 The AMA didn't want that. 481 00:35:13,144 --> 00:35:15,408 And to drive the point home further. 482 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,075 They held thousands of coffeeklatsches all over the country. 483 00:35:19,150 --> 00:35:23,450 Where they invited their neighbors to come and listen to a record 484 00:35:23,521 --> 00:35:28,618 made by a well-known actor on the evils of socialized medicine. 485 00:35:28,693 --> 00:35:30,786 My name is Ronald Reagan. 486 00:35:30,862 --> 00:35:35,629 One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people. 487 00:35:35,700 --> 00:35:38,498 Has been by way of medicine. 488 00:35:38,569 --> 00:35:43,199 The doctor begins to lose freedoms. It's like telling a lie. And one leads to another. 489 00:35:43,274 --> 00:35:46,266 A doctor decides he wants to practice in one town. 490 00:35:46,344 --> 00:35:49,177 The government says to him. "You can't live in that town. 491 00:35:49,247 --> 00:35:53,149 They already have enough doctors. You have to go someplace else. " 492 00:35:53,217 --> 00:35:56,812 All of us can see what happens once you establish the precedent 493 00:35:56,888 --> 00:36:02,758 that the government can determine a man's working place and his methods. 494 00:36:02,827 --> 00:36:05,261 And behind it will come other federal programs 495 00:36:05,329 --> 00:36:09,095 that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country. 496 00:36:09,167 --> 00:36:14,104 Until one day. We will awake to find that we have socialism. 497 00:36:18,042 --> 00:36:20,806 (reporter #4) The White House said to tone down the rhetoric. 498 00:36:20,878 --> 00:36:23,278 Reacting to burning an effigy of Hillary Clinton. 499 00:36:23,347 --> 00:36:27,613 (Moore) The times may have changed. But the scare tactics hadn't. 500 00:36:27,685 --> 00:36:30,950 The healthcare industries spent over a hundred million dollars 501 00:36:31,022 --> 00:36:35,823 to defeat Hillary's healthcare plan. And they succeeded. 502 00:36:35,893 --> 00:36:39,192 And I want now to introduce to you the president, 503 00:36:39,263 --> 00:36:42,494 because he loves the Easter egg roll. 504 00:36:42,567 --> 00:36:45,229 (Moore) For the next seven years in the White House. 505 00:36:45,303 --> 00:36:47,533 She wasn't allowed to bring it up again. 506 00:36:47,605 --> 00:36:49,539 Is anybody here older than two? 507 00:36:49,607 --> 00:36:52,007 (Moore) A decade and a half went by. 508 00:36:52,076 --> 00:36:55,375 And still America had no universal health plan. 509 00:36:55,947 --> 00:37:00,350 The United States slipped to number 37 in healthcare around the world. 510 00:37:00,418 --> 00:37:03,285 Just slightly ahead of Slovenia. 511 00:37:03,354 --> 00:37:05,345 (men speaking Slovenian) 512 00:37:07,992 --> 00:37:13,328 But that's understandable. Because Congress was busy with other matters. 513 00:37:13,397 --> 00:37:15,991 Mr. Speaker, today I rise to offer congratulations 514 00:37:16,067 --> 00:37:18,934 to the confectioners at Just Born Incorporated, 515 00:37:19,003 --> 00:37:21,233 as they celebrate the 50th anniversary 516 00:37:21,305 --> 00:37:24,240 of one of their most recognized and celebrated products, 517 00:37:24,308 --> 00:37:27,334 not to mention my daughter's favorite, Marshmallow Peeps. 518 00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:32,982 (Moore) And thus. The healthcare industry went unchecked into the 21 st century. 519 00:37:33,050 --> 00:37:37,612 Humana more than doubles its fourth quarter profit, lifts its earning for the year... 520 00:37:37,688 --> 00:37:39,883 United Health has tripled its share prices. 521 00:37:39,957 --> 00:37:42,653 (Moore) Making obscene profits... 522 00:37:42,727 --> 00:37:44,558 ...better-than-expected earnings. 523 00:37:44,629 --> 00:37:47,223 There's a lot of wealthy shareholders out there. 524 00:37:47,298 --> 00:37:49,562 Are they willing to share some of that wealth? 525 00:37:49,634 --> 00:37:53,092 (Moore)... turning their CEOs into billionaires. 526 00:37:53,771 --> 00:37:57,366 And skirting the law whenever they wanted. 527 00:37:58,709 --> 00:38:03,169 But their biggest accomplishment was buying our United States Congress. 528 00:38:03,247 --> 00:38:07,980 (man #5) This is Washington at work. Lobbying has become so brazen... 529 00:38:08,052 --> 00:38:11,078 (Moore) With four times as many healthcare lobbyists 530 00:38:11,155 --> 00:38:13,248 than there are members of Congress. 531 00:38:13,324 --> 00:38:16,293 They even managed to buy off old foes. 532 00:38:17,094 --> 00:38:19,927 For her silence. Hillary was rewarded. 533 00:38:19,997 --> 00:38:23,558 And she became the second largest recipient in the Senate 534 00:38:23,634 --> 00:38:26,967 of healthcare industry contributions. 535 00:38:30,841 --> 00:38:35,642 We've given the entire healthcare system over to the insurance industry. 536 00:38:35,713 --> 00:38:40,343 - And they have total control. - (Moore) Well. Not total control. 537 00:38:40,418 --> 00:38:44,718 Drug companies like to buy their members of Congress too. 538 00:38:44,789 --> 00:38:48,156 Here's what it costs to buy these men. 539 00:38:48,225 --> 00:38:50,216 And this woman. 540 00:38:52,029 --> 00:38:54,156 This guy. 541 00:38:54,231 --> 00:38:56,722 And this guy. And him too. 542 00:38:58,502 --> 00:39:03,064 (man #6) Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. 543 00:39:03,140 --> 00:39:07,543 (Moore) And the biggest check was saved for last. 544 00:39:07,611 --> 00:39:10,273 Why did they hand out all this cash? 545 00:39:10,348 --> 00:39:15,809 They wanted a bill passed - a bill to help seniors with their prescriptions. 546 00:39:15,886 --> 00:39:18,116 Let there be no mistake about it. 547 00:39:18,189 --> 00:39:21,681 Republicans love their mothers, their fathers and their grandparents 548 00:39:21,759 --> 00:39:26,992 as much as anybody else on this hill, and we're gonna take care of them. 549 00:39:27,064 --> 00:39:32,161 (Moore) Of course. It was really a bill to hand over 800 billion of our tax dollars 550 00:39:32,236 --> 00:39:34,500 to the drug and health insurance industry. 551 00:39:34,572 --> 00:39:38,201 By letting the drug companies charge whatever they wanted. 552 00:39:38,275 --> 00:39:41,506 And making the private health insurance companies the middleman. 553 00:39:41,579 --> 00:39:44,514 Everybody was going to get their cut. 554 00:39:44,582 --> 00:39:47,244 The man they appointed to get the job done 555 00:39:47,318 --> 00:39:49,912 was congressman Billy Tauzin. 556 00:39:49,987 --> 00:39:55,220 He was the right man for the job because he had a secret weapon. 557 00:39:55,292 --> 00:39:59,456 There's no one in this house loves their mother more than I love my mother. 558 00:39:59,530 --> 00:40:00,963 I challenge you on that, sir. 559 00:40:01,031 --> 00:40:06,162 Nobody in this body that loves their mother any more or any less than any one of us. 560 00:40:06,904 --> 00:40:08,462 I love that woman. 561 00:40:08,539 --> 00:40:11,633 Do you think for a second you love your moms and dads 562 00:40:11,709 --> 00:40:13,677 any more than we love ours? 563 00:40:13,744 --> 00:40:17,305 Do you think Republicans and Democrats who will vote... 564 00:40:17,381 --> 00:40:21,078 Do you really believe that, Mr. Stoddard? God bless you. 565 00:40:21,152 --> 00:40:24,280 (Moore) Oh. They all loved their mothers. 566 00:40:24,355 --> 00:40:28,553 It's just that they didn't love our mothers as much. 567 00:40:28,626 --> 00:40:34,929 Now I'm honored and pleased to sign this historic piece of legislation - 568 00:40:34,999 --> 00:40:38,992 the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act 569 00:40:39,069 --> 00:40:41,060 of 2003. 570 00:40:43,140 --> 00:40:46,837 (Moore) What they didn't tell us was that the elderly could end up paying more 571 00:40:46,911 --> 00:40:49,778 for their prescriptions than they did before. 572 00:40:49,847 --> 00:40:56,275 Over to thirds of senior citizens could still pay over $ 2.000 a year. 573 00:40:56,353 --> 00:41:01,313 And when it was over. 14 congressional aids who worked on the bill 574 00:41:01,392 --> 00:41:07,297 quit their jobs on the Hill and went to work for the healthcare industry. 575 00:41:07,364 --> 00:41:09,662 As did one congressman. 576 00:41:09,733 --> 00:41:13,760 # 'Cause I've got a golden ticket... 577 00:41:13,838 --> 00:41:18,275 (Moore) Billy Tauzin left Congress to become the CEO of PhRMA. 578 00:41:18,342 --> 00:41:20,367 The drug industry lobby. 579 00:41:20,444 --> 00:41:23,072 For a salary of $ 2 million a year. 580 00:41:25,616 --> 00:41:28,881 Oh. It was a happy day in Washington. 581 00:41:28,953 --> 00:41:34,914 Many Americans knew they were never going to see universal healthcare. 582 00:41:34,992 --> 00:41:40,225 And that's why some of them decided to look elsewhere for help. 583 00:41:44,935 --> 00:41:47,870 (woman #3) We're driving across the Detroit river. 584 00:41:47,938 --> 00:41:51,237 Back there is the Renaissance Center, you can see it. 585 00:41:51,308 --> 00:41:55,642 General Motors' headquarters, downtown Detroit, the skyline. 586 00:41:55,713 --> 00:41:58,944 You get a really nice view from driving over the bridge. 587 00:41:59,016 --> 00:42:02,383 (Moore) This is Adrian Campbell. A single mother. 588 00:42:02,453 --> 00:42:06,583 Who at the age of 22 came down with cancer. 589 00:42:06,657 --> 00:42:11,026 (Adrian) I got cervical cancer and I was denied through the insurance company. 590 00:42:11,095 --> 00:42:15,191 They said, "We're not paying for it because you're 22 and you don't have..." 591 00:42:15,266 --> 00:42:18,895 "You shouldn't be having cervical cancer. You're too young." 592 00:42:18,969 --> 00:42:22,427 (Moore) Forced into debt. But now cancer free. 593 00:42:22,506 --> 00:42:25,669 Adrian was fed up with the American healthcare system. 594 00:42:25,743 --> 00:42:27,768 She had a new plan. 595 00:42:27,845 --> 00:42:30,609 I have everything ready before I even hit the border. 596 00:42:30,681 --> 00:42:34,617 I got my passports ready, I got my money out. 597 00:42:34,685 --> 00:42:37,950 It's three dollars and 25 cents to get across one way. 598 00:42:38,022 --> 00:42:43,756 And I got everything just sitting up here on my visor just ready to go. 599 00:42:47,831 --> 00:42:50,322 Aurora, be very quiet. 600 00:42:53,671 --> 00:42:55,866 - Citizenships? - US. 601 00:42:55,940 --> 00:42:57,635 - Where do you live? - Michigan. 602 00:42:57,708 --> 00:43:00,040 - That's not on, right? - No. 603 00:43:00,978 --> 00:43:03,412 (Moore) She may live in Michigan. 604 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:09,146 But ten blocks across the border. Adrian becomes a Canadian. 605 00:43:09,219 --> 00:43:12,052 How long have you been living here? Three months? 606 00:43:12,122 --> 00:43:16,491 A couple. I haven't applied for the OHIP card yet. 607 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:19,051 - I still have mine. - It takes ten minutes. 608 00:43:19,129 --> 00:43:22,621 That's fine, I don't mind. OK, thank you. 609 00:43:22,700 --> 00:43:25,260 I put down Kyle's address at the clinic, 610 00:43:25,336 --> 00:43:28,134 and when they ask, you know, what my relationship is, 611 00:43:28,205 --> 00:43:32,301 I put down that I was his common-law partner. 612 00:43:32,376 --> 00:43:34,435 I don't like to lie and I don't like liars. 613 00:43:34,511 --> 00:43:40,416 It's little white lies, but it's... You know, I'm saving the money. 614 00:43:40,484 --> 00:43:45,820 You don't bring a checkbook when you go to the hospital here. It's provided to us. 615 00:43:45,889 --> 00:43:50,053 It's something you don't have to worry about or go out of your way to get. 616 00:43:50,127 --> 00:43:51,788 Stress free. 617 00:43:56,767 --> 00:43:59,565 - They called the cops. - (Moore) The presence of our camera 618 00:43:59,637 --> 00:44:01,696 alerted the clinic that something was up. 619 00:44:01,772 --> 00:44:04,172 And I don't think I'm gonna get seen now. 620 00:44:04,241 --> 00:44:06,766 So I have another idea. 621 00:44:06,844 --> 00:44:09,870 I'm gonna go down to the other clinic. 622 00:44:09,947 --> 00:44:13,678 There is a clinic down... one that we passed. 623 00:44:14,718 --> 00:44:17,812 The police showed up over there. Look. 624 00:44:19,390 --> 00:44:23,759 (Moore) Yes. What Adrian was doing was illegal. But we're Americans. 625 00:44:23,827 --> 00:44:26,489 We go into other countries when we need to. 626 00:44:27,164 --> 00:44:29,860 It's tricky. But it's allowed. 627 00:44:33,003 --> 00:44:35,733 (Kyle) It's kind of frustrating having... I mean... 628 00:44:35,806 --> 00:44:39,003 Just get married and that'd solve everything - she'd be covered. 629 00:44:39,076 --> 00:44:42,842 Americans marry Canadians just for the healthcare! 630 00:44:42,913 --> 00:44:46,371 - I'm being used. - (Moore) Sounds like a good idea. 631 00:44:46,450 --> 00:44:50,477 See if it works. Start something. Start a trend. 632 00:44:52,623 --> 00:44:54,955 In Canada they give everybody free healthcare. 633 00:44:55,025 --> 00:44:57,858 - Doesn't it work up there? - No, unfortunately it doesn't. 634 00:44:57,928 --> 00:45:01,523 We wait months to get treatment you can get in a week or a few days here. 635 00:45:01,598 --> 00:45:06,262 (reporter # 5) In Canada you have to wait nine to ten months for bypass surgery. 636 00:45:06,336 --> 00:45:11,364 (reporter #6) Many Canadians believe it's the healthcare system itself that's sick. 637 00:45:11,442 --> 00:45:13,342 (reporter #7) They pay their doctors less. 638 00:45:13,410 --> 00:45:16,846 (reporter #8) A surgeon can only do a certain number of operations each year. 639 00:45:16,914 --> 00:45:19,678 With only so many expensive new pieces of equipment. 640 00:45:19,750 --> 00:45:23,914 It's easier for your cat or dog to receive an MRI here in America. 641 00:45:23,987 --> 00:45:28,447 You die of cancer waiting for chemo 'cause all of Ottawa has one chemo machine. 642 00:45:28,525 --> 00:45:32,985 If you think socialized medicine is a good idea, ask a Canadian. 643 00:45:34,565 --> 00:45:40,526 (Moore) I thought who better to ask than my Canadian relatives. Bob and Estelle. 644 00:45:40,604 --> 00:45:43,903 But they wouldn't cross the border into America. 645 00:45:43,974 --> 00:45:47,705 They wanted me to meet them at Sears. In Canada. 646 00:45:47,778 --> 00:45:51,077 What are you guys doing here? 647 00:45:51,148 --> 00:45:55,414 - We're buying insurance. - We're going to the States to see you. 648 00:45:55,486 --> 00:45:57,477 Right, that's just across the river. 649 00:45:57,554 --> 00:45:59,112 Yeah. 650 00:45:59,189 --> 00:46:03,489 You wouldn't go over to see us in Michigan for a couple of hours without insurance? 651 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:07,963 No, we wouldn't. We're just adamant about it. We would not do it. 652 00:46:08,031 --> 00:46:12,297 If somebody punches us in the mouth or something, something like that... 653 00:46:12,369 --> 00:46:15,736 You don't want to get caught in the American health system thing? 654 00:46:15,806 --> 00:46:21,073 We have nothing against Americans or America, or anything like that at all. 655 00:46:21,145 --> 00:46:27,641 - (Moore) We're a nice and simple people. - Not very simple, but certainly very nice. 656 00:46:29,219 --> 00:46:32,620 (Moore) I decided to explore their anti-American views further. 657 00:46:32,689 --> 00:46:34,987 Over some fine Canadian cuisine. 658 00:46:35,058 --> 00:46:38,789 We have a friend who went to Hawaii. 659 00:46:38,862 --> 00:46:43,094 And he sustained a head injury while he was there. 660 00:46:43,167 --> 00:46:45,931 And before he was well enough to come home, 661 00:46:46,003 --> 00:46:50,030 he had chalked up a bill of over $600,000. 662 00:46:51,341 --> 00:46:55,675 So what middle-class Canadian could absorb that? 663 00:46:55,746 --> 00:47:00,115 (Moore) I guess I feel bad that you would have to worry about something like that. 664 00:47:00,184 --> 00:47:04,177 We're not criticizing your country, we're just giving you the facts, 665 00:47:04,254 --> 00:47:08,884 that we could not afford to be without insurance. 666 00:47:08,959 --> 00:47:12,520 - (Moore) Even for a day? - Even for a day. 667 00:47:13,797 --> 00:47:17,756 (Moore) To prove their point even further. They sent me over to a local golf course 668 00:47:17,835 --> 00:47:23,899 to talk to Larry Godfrey. Who had a golfing accident while on vacation in Florida. 669 00:47:23,974 --> 00:47:28,877 I could hear a noise and feel a pain, and the tendon snapped off this bone here 670 00:47:28,946 --> 00:47:31,244 that holds the bicep in place. 671 00:47:31,315 --> 00:47:34,876 So this bicep muscle was released, like on an elastic, 672 00:47:34,952 --> 00:47:37,386 and it ended up here on my chest. 673 00:47:37,454 --> 00:47:40,685 - The muscle ended up in your chest? - Right. Ended up here. 674 00:47:41,558 --> 00:47:44,891 (Moore) Like all good golfers. Larry finished his round 675 00:47:44,962 --> 00:47:47,954 before seeking medical attention. 676 00:47:48,031 --> 00:47:50,795 That's when he got the bad news. 677 00:47:50,868 --> 00:47:53,496 I wasn't too worried as I had out-of-country insurance, 678 00:47:53,570 --> 00:47:57,529 but when he told me it was 23 or 24,000, then I... . 679 00:47:57,608 --> 00:48:01,044 - (Moore) 24,000? - Dollars, yes. 680 00:48:01,111 --> 00:48:04,877 So if you'd stayed in the United States, this would have cost you $ 24,000? 681 00:48:04,948 --> 00:48:09,442 Instead, you went back to Canada, and Canada paid your total expenses? 682 00:48:09,519 --> 00:48:12,010 - Everything. - Paid for the operation. It cost you? 683 00:48:12,089 --> 00:48:13,420 - Nothing. - Zero. 684 00:48:13,490 --> 00:48:15,958 Zero. Zero. 685 00:48:16,026 --> 00:48:20,190 I'm wondering why you expect your fellow Canadians, who don't have your problem, 686 00:48:20,264 --> 00:48:25,361 why should they, through their tax dollars, have to pay for a problem you have? 687 00:48:25,435 --> 00:48:29,064 Because we would do the same for them. 688 00:48:29,139 --> 00:48:33,542 It's just the way it's always been and it's the way we hope it'll always be. 689 00:48:33,610 --> 00:48:36,340 Right, but if you just had to pay for your problem, 690 00:48:36,413 --> 00:48:40,144 and don't pay for everybody else's problem, just take care of yourself? 691 00:48:40,217 --> 00:48:43,948 Well, there are a lot of people who aren't in a position to be able to do that. 692 00:48:44,021 --> 00:48:46,581 And somebody has to look after them. 693 00:48:46,657 --> 00:48:48,750 Are you a member of the Socialist Party? 694 00:48:48,825 --> 00:48:51,293 - No. No. - Green Party? 695 00:48:51,361 --> 00:48:56,731 No. Well, actually, I'm a member of the Conservative Party. 696 00:48:56,800 --> 00:48:58,961 Is that bad? 697 00:48:59,836 --> 00:49:03,328 - Well, it's just a little confusing. - Well... 698 00:49:03,407 --> 00:49:05,807 It shouldn't be. I think that... 699 00:49:05,876 --> 00:49:09,209 Where medical matters are concerned, it wouldn't matter in Canada 700 00:49:09,279 --> 00:49:13,511 what party you were affiliated with, if any. 701 00:49:13,583 --> 00:49:16,575 But, to us, as we look across the river here, 702 00:49:16,653 --> 00:49:19,247 you know, why don't you think we don't believe that? 703 00:49:19,323 --> 00:49:21,848 What's wrong on this issue with us? 704 00:49:21,925 --> 00:49:28,057 I guess the powers that be don't share our beliefs 705 00:49:28,131 --> 00:49:30,497 that healthcare ought to be universal. 706 00:49:30,567 --> 00:49:35,630 I mean, Canadians didn't until we met up with a guy named Tommy Douglas, 707 00:49:35,706 --> 00:49:39,836 who pretty much changed everyone's mind. 708 00:49:39,910 --> 00:49:43,676 - One guy? - One guy, yeah. One guy did it, he... 709 00:49:43,747 --> 00:49:46,716 - Can he come over and visit us? - He's dead, unfortunately. 710 00:49:46,783 --> 00:49:48,774 In fact, he was... 711 00:49:48,852 --> 00:49:54,154 He's just most recently been revered as Canada's singular most important person. 712 00:49:54,224 --> 00:49:57,057 - We think so much of... - You mean in your history? 713 00:49:57,127 --> 00:49:59,061 In our whole history. 714 00:49:59,129 --> 00:50:01,996 - More than your first prime minister? - Absolutely, yeah. 715 00:50:02,065 --> 00:50:04,556 Even more than Wayne Gretzky. 716 00:50:04,634 --> 00:50:07,569 - No way! - Absolutely. Yeah. 717 00:50:07,637 --> 00:50:11,596 - More than C�line Dion? - Great singer. More than C�line, yeah. 718 00:50:11,675 --> 00:50:14,508 - More than Rocky and Bullwinkle? - Maybe. 719 00:50:20,250 --> 00:50:23,117 As the blade went through, it caught the glove I was wearing 720 00:50:23,186 --> 00:50:29,056 and it sliced through the entire group of fingers, completely taking them off. 721 00:50:29,126 --> 00:50:32,459 And I realized that I needed help immediately. 722 00:50:33,497 --> 00:50:36,694 (man) Obviously, putting on amputated fingers or arms or limbs 723 00:50:36,767 --> 00:50:38,962 is one of the more dramatic things we can do. 724 00:50:39,036 --> 00:50:43,166 If you're looking at five fingers, you're looking at a 24-hour operation. 725 00:50:43,240 --> 00:50:47,040 There actually was four surgeons, as well as all the nurses 726 00:50:47,110 --> 00:50:51,638 and two different anesthetists to carry out an operation of that magnitude. 727 00:50:51,715 --> 00:50:56,448 When Brad came in, we didn't have to worry about whether he could afford it. 728 00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:01,958 He needed help and we could concentrate on the best way to bring him through it. 729 00:51:02,893 --> 00:51:08,126 (Moore) I met this American, he'd cut off the ends of two of his fingers with a saw. 730 00:51:08,198 --> 00:51:13,795 So when he arrived at the hospital, they told him one finger's gonna cost $60,000, 731 00:51:13,870 --> 00:51:16,634 and the other one was gonna be $12,000. 732 00:51:16,706 --> 00:51:20,039 He had to choose which finger he could afford. 733 00:51:20,110 --> 00:51:22,476 Down. Bend the long finger down. 734 00:51:22,546 --> 00:51:26,710 (surgeon) We've never told someone that they couldn't put a finger back on 735 00:51:26,783 --> 00:51:28,774 because the system wouldn't allow it. 736 00:51:28,852 --> 00:51:34,222 I'm very glad I work within a system that allows me the freedom to look after people, 737 00:51:34,291 --> 00:51:36,782 and not have to make choices like that. 738 00:51:36,860 --> 00:51:40,591 (Moore) It seems nothing we were told about the Canadian system was true. 739 00:51:40,664 --> 00:51:43,098 Maybe I was just in the wrong part of town. 740 00:51:43,166 --> 00:51:47,125 So I went across the city to a crowded hospital waiting room. 741 00:51:47,204 --> 00:51:49,468 How long did you have to wait here to get help? 742 00:51:49,539 --> 00:51:51,973 - 20 minutes. - 45 minutes. 743 00:51:52,042 --> 00:51:55,443 - I got helped right away. - You can see how crowded this is. 744 00:51:55,512 --> 00:51:58,003 They really do an amazing job. 745 00:51:58,081 --> 00:52:01,278 (Moore) Did you have to get permission to come to this hospital? 746 00:52:01,351 --> 00:52:02,909 - No. - No. 747 00:52:02,986 --> 00:52:04,977 We can go anywhere we want. 748 00:52:05,055 --> 00:52:08,991 (Moore) You don't have to get it preapproved by your insurance company? 749 00:52:09,059 --> 00:52:12,620 - Oh, heavens, no. - (Moore) Can you choose your doctor? 750 00:52:12,696 --> 00:52:14,994 - Oh, yes. - (Moore) What's your deductible? 751 00:52:15,065 --> 00:52:17,533 - Nothing. - I don't think we have any. 752 00:52:17,601 --> 00:52:21,264 I don't know. I don't think there's any, as far as I know. 753 00:52:21,338 --> 00:52:23,363 - (Moore) So what did this cost? - Nothing. 754 00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:26,136 We know in America people pay for their healthcare, 755 00:52:26,209 --> 00:52:31,010 but I guess we don't understand that, 'cause we don't have to deal with that. 756 00:52:31,081 --> 00:52:34,573 And we're dealing with Parkinson's, stroke, heart attack. 757 00:52:34,651 --> 00:52:37,142 We're very, very lucky. Really we are. 758 00:52:37,220 --> 00:52:40,553 I mean, we complain. People complain about everything, right? 759 00:52:40,624 --> 00:52:45,357 - (Moore) Right, you're Canadian. - But on the whole, it's a fabulous system 760 00:52:45,428 --> 00:52:51,128 for making sure that the least of us and the best of us are taken care of. 761 00:52:51,201 --> 00:52:56,468 (Moore) It turns out that Canadians live three years longer than we do. 762 00:52:56,540 --> 00:53:02,342 That's not hard to believe when you meet fellow Americans like Erik. 763 00:53:02,412 --> 00:53:06,746 # Oh, England, here we go 764 00:53:09,052 --> 00:53:13,455 (Moore) Erik Turnbow of Olympia. Washington. Saved up his whole life 765 00:53:13,523 --> 00:53:18,290 so that he could visit the famed Abbey Road crosswalk in London. 766 00:53:18,361 --> 00:53:22,695 But it wasn't enough for Erik to just walk across the road like The Beatles did. 767 00:53:22,766 --> 00:53:25,929 He had to do it his own special way. 768 00:53:26,903 --> 00:53:32,205 (man #7) Here's Erik, about to walk on his hands across Abbey Road. 769 00:53:33,143 --> 00:53:35,134 Ready? 770 00:53:35,879 --> 00:53:37,870 - Ugh! - (crack) 771 00:53:39,382 --> 00:53:40,474 (man #7) Try it again. 772 00:53:49,593 --> 00:53:51,458 - Are you in pain? - Yeah. 773 00:53:55,699 --> 00:54:01,365 (Moore) The British hospital didn't charge Erik anything for his stay. 774 00:54:01,438 --> 00:54:06,705 And only about ten bucks for all the way-cool drugs they gave him. 775 00:54:06,776 --> 00:54:10,678 - (man #7) You're all slung up. - I'm gonna be OK. 776 00:54:14,317 --> 00:54:19,687 (Moore) I decided to go to Great Britain to find out how a hospital stay could be free. 777 00:54:19,756 --> 00:54:23,089 And drugs could cost only ten dollars. 778 00:54:25,362 --> 00:54:30,629 If I come in here and I have a prescription and it requires 30 pills, how much is that? 779 00:54:30,700 --> 00:54:33,498 It's L6.65. That's the standard charge. 780 00:54:33,570 --> 00:54:37,006 (Moore) L6.65? So that's what? Ten dollars or so? 781 00:54:37,073 --> 00:54:40,133 - Yes. - What if I needed 60 pills, how much is it? 782 00:54:40,210 --> 00:54:42,405 - Same charge. - 120 pills? 783 00:54:42,479 --> 00:54:44,913 - L6.65 still. - It doesn't matter how many pills? 784 00:54:44,981 --> 00:54:48,747 - No. - What if it's an HIV drug or a cancer drug? 785 00:54:48,818 --> 00:54:50,445 Still L6.65. 786 00:54:50,520 --> 00:54:55,981 If they are under 16 or over 60, they're automatically exempt. 787 00:54:56,059 --> 00:55:01,122 (Moore) So only a working adult who earns enough money pays the L6.65? 788 00:55:01,197 --> 00:55:03,324 Everybody else gets medication free? 789 00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:06,028 - No money being exchanged here? - No, nothing. 790 00:55:06,102 --> 00:55:09,629 - There's no money being exchanged? - I'm over 60. We don't pay. 791 00:55:09,706 --> 00:55:11,970 What's the purpose of the cash register? 792 00:55:14,177 --> 00:55:19,444 I'm just wondering where's the bread and the milk and the candy in here? 793 00:55:19,516 --> 00:55:22,917 I can't pick up any laundry detergent here? 794 00:55:22,986 --> 00:55:27,980 No. I haven't been trained for that many years to be selling detergents, so no. 795 00:55:39,469 --> 00:55:45,806 (Moore) I next went to a state-run hospital. Operated by the National Health Service. 796 00:55:46,776 --> 00:55:51,110 (woman # 4) I'm due in seven weeks and I get six months off, paid. 797 00:55:51,181 --> 00:55:55,584 And then I can have six months off unpaid as well, so I'm actually taking a year. 798 00:55:55,652 --> 00:55:58,519 (Moore) Well, that sounds like a luxury where I'm from. 799 00:55:58,588 --> 00:56:03,685 Oh, really, it's not like that in the US? No? Not at all, no? 800 00:56:04,194 --> 00:56:06,526 (Moore) So what do you pay for a stay here? 801 00:56:06,596 --> 00:56:08,928 No one pays. 802 00:56:10,367 --> 00:56:12,892 They were asking how do people pay. 803 00:56:12,969 --> 00:56:15,403 I said there isn't... You don't, you just leave. 804 00:56:15,472 --> 00:56:19,966 It's national insurance. There's no bill at the end of it, as it were. 805 00:56:22,445 --> 00:56:26,245 (Moore) Even with insurance. There's bound to be a bill somewhere. 806 00:56:26,316 --> 00:56:29,877 - So where's the billing department? - There isn't a billing department. 807 00:56:29,953 --> 00:56:31,921 There's no such thing. 808 00:56:32,522 --> 00:56:34,615 (Moore) What did they charge for that baby? 809 00:56:34,691 --> 00:56:37,717 - Sorry? - You gotta pay before you can get out? 810 00:56:37,794 --> 00:56:41,753 - No. This is NHS. - No, no. Everything is on NHS. 811 00:56:41,831 --> 00:56:44,322 You know, it's not America. 812 00:56:46,703 --> 00:56:52,642 (Moore) Maybe I'd have better luck in the part where things get seriously expensive. 813 00:56:52,709 --> 00:56:57,078 This guy broke his ankle. How much will this cost him? 814 00:56:57,147 --> 00:57:01,709 The emergency room visit. He'll have some huge bill when he's done, right? 815 00:57:01,785 --> 00:57:04,845 Here... NHS, everything is free. 816 00:57:04,921 --> 00:57:08,220 (Moore) I'm asking about hospital charges and you're laughing. 817 00:57:08,291 --> 00:57:12,022 I was never asked this question in the emergency department, that's why. 818 00:57:13,830 --> 00:57:16,993 (Moore) I was starting to fall for this "everything is free" bit. 819 00:57:17,066 --> 00:57:19,057 And then I discovered this. 820 00:57:20,403 --> 00:57:24,339 So this is where people come to pay their bill when they're done staying here? 821 00:57:24,407 --> 00:57:27,467 No, this is the NHS hospital, so you don't pay the bill. 822 00:57:27,544 --> 00:57:30,342 You get to just go home? 823 00:57:30,413 --> 00:57:35,146 Why does it say "cashier" here if people don't have to pay a bill? 824 00:57:35,218 --> 00:57:37,812 All we have is a little man who stands behind a counter 825 00:57:37,887 --> 00:57:41,948 and he gives people money if they've had to pay for transport. 826 00:57:42,025 --> 00:57:46,086 Those who have reduced means get their travel expenses reimbursed. 827 00:57:46,162 --> 00:57:47,254 Thank you. 828 00:57:47,330 --> 00:57:52,597 (Moore) So in British hospitals. Instead of money going into the cashier's window. 829 00:57:52,669 --> 00:57:54,227 Money comes out. 830 00:57:54,304 --> 00:57:57,273 The criteria for letting you out are not if you've paid, 831 00:57:57,340 --> 00:58:00,673 the criteria are, are you fit to go and are you going somewhere safe? 832 00:58:00,743 --> 00:58:03,974 (Moore) Clearly. I was just the butt of a joke here. 833 00:58:09,085 --> 00:58:12,282 What I needed was a good old-fashioned American 834 00:58:12,355 --> 00:58:14,880 who would have some understanding. 835 00:58:14,958 --> 00:58:18,519 (woman #5) I first came to London in 1992. 836 00:58:18,595 --> 00:58:22,895 And we just ended up staying and we had three children here. 837 00:58:22,966 --> 00:58:28,268 Well, I had them all on the NHS, which is the British National Health Service. 838 00:58:28,338 --> 00:58:32,069 I think, like a lot of Americans, assumed that a socialized medicine 839 00:58:32,141 --> 00:58:35,110 was just bottom of the rung treatment, 840 00:58:35,178 --> 00:58:39,171 that the only way would be horrible and it would be like the Soviet Union. 841 00:58:39,249 --> 00:58:41,217 I mean, that's kind of how... 842 00:58:41,284 --> 00:58:45,778 - And it's terrible that that's what I thought. - (Moore) That's what I thought. Too. 843 00:58:45,855 --> 00:58:49,450 After having a baby. It's right back to the wheat fields. 844 00:58:49,526 --> 00:58:52,461 (singing in Russian) 845 00:59:13,983 --> 00:59:17,180 And then it occurred to me that back home in America. 846 00:59:17,253 --> 00:59:20,154 We've socialized a lot of things. 847 00:59:44,747 --> 00:59:50,652 I kind of like having a police department and fire department and the library. 848 00:59:50,720 --> 00:59:56,590 And I got to wondering. Why don't we have more of these free. Socialized things. 849 00:59:56,659 --> 00:59:58,149 Like healthcare? 850 00:59:58,227 --> 01:00:03,130 When did this whole idea that every British citizen should have a right to healthcare? 851 01:00:03,199 --> 01:00:06,532 Well, if you go back, it all began with democracy. 852 01:00:06,603 --> 01:00:11,370 Before we had the vote all the power was in the hands of rich people. 853 01:00:11,441 --> 01:00:14,069 If you had money, you could get healthcare, education, 854 01:00:14,143 --> 01:00:16,043 look after yourself when you were old. 855 01:00:16,112 --> 01:00:21,106 And what democracy did was to give the poor the vote. 856 01:00:21,184 --> 01:00:25,314 And it moved power from the marketplace to the polling station. 857 01:00:25,388 --> 01:00:27,948 From the wallet to the ballot. 858 01:00:28,024 --> 01:00:30,083 And what people said was very simple. 859 01:00:30,159 --> 01:00:34,255 They said, "In the 1930s, we had mass unemployment."