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Health Care Crunch

Burlington, Vermont - July 5, 2007

Advocates for health insurance reform say there has never been a better time to push for change in the nation's health care system.

Michael Moore's new documentary, "Sicko," is calling new attention to issue; and with an election year approaching, there is a grass-roots effort to turn the movie's message into public policy.

"We felt like it was important to capitalize on that momentum, especially going into an election year," explained Tristan Adie, a member of the International Socialist Organization. The group planned a public forum at Burlington's City Hall Thursday night to talk about the movie and its call for a single-payer, government-run program for everyone. About 100 people attended the forum, and about half of them raised their hands when asked who had seen the movie.

"I think we have the opportunity for a national movement in a way we never have had nationally," Adie said. "In part because of Michael Moore's movie; in part because of the elections; in part because of that massive dissatisfaction with Congress and the president. Why not go for the national program if we have the opportunity? Why not strike while the iron is hot?"

Critics have argued socialized medicine would force a decline in the quality of care and a massive tax increase. But supporters disagreed.

"If you go to a single-payer system, you eliminate the cost of the bureaucracy," Adie said. "Many studies have shown we would pay less in taxpayer dollars."

Panelists advocated support for HR 676, a bill in Congress characterized as "Medicare for all."

"We all share in the need," said Dr. Deb Richter, a panelist and member of Vermont Health Care for All. "At some point you are going to be in that bed, so we all share in the use. So we should all share in the cost, based on our ability to pay."

Advocates said the solution has to come on a national level, not state approaches like Vermont's Catamount health program. Adie called local approaches "a step backwards."

"They're meant to mollify critics who said, 'what about all these people who are uninsured?' without tackling the problem of those of us who are insured and have really inadequate coverage."

That's the problem Nancy Welch faced when her husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer and a brain tumor.

"I was hired at UVM with 100% health coverage," she explained during the public forum. "Then it went to co-pays, then to managed care and then denial of services, and I suddenly realized this could kill him. Fortunately he qualified for a federal study. He now gets his care at the National Institutes of Health. No bills, no referrals, he just goes and he gets excellent care. You get a picture of what it could be like for everybody."

Kate Duffy - WCAX News