Moore lines up US health system



He won an Oscar after taking aim at US gun culture in Bowling for Columbine and earned the Palme D'Or for giving the Bush administration both barrels in Fahrenheit 9/11. But as Michael Moore puts the US health system in the crosshairs for his latest, take-no-prisoners documentary - Sicko - the firebrand director is himself in the firing line. Not only are US Treasury officials investigating him for possibly breaking a trade embargo against Cuba during the making of the movie, which premieres at the Cannes film festival, but Moore has faced renewed scrutiny of his methods.

Manufacturing Dissent, a recent film about Moore's work, shows him twisting the truth and using footage out of context. Ironically the film was made by two admirers of the director, Canadians Rick Caine and Debbie Melnyk. "We agreed with his politics," said Caine, adding that they had initially set out to make a film that celebrated Moore. But they soon discovered a trail of broken promises to colleagues, exaggerations of facts, and footage used out of context.

Among the most startling revelations of the documentary is the claim that the central premise of Moore's seminal Roger and Me - that the boss of then-General Motors chairman Rogers Smith refused him an interview - is false.

Moore would not be interviewed for Manufacturing Dissent but may find it hard to evade questions at Cannes as he promotes Sicko, "a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on Earth." Buzz around the film is guaranteed to be intense after news of the US Treasury probe, which was sparked by Moore's decision to take rescue workers from the site of 9/11's Ground Zero to Cuba for medical treatment.

The development has handed Moore a public relations bonanza on a platter as he attempts to rev up interest in the film. "The government going after Michael Moore is like Paris Hilton going to the clink: It's a brand extension," PR expert Eric Dezenhall said. "It can only help his career. It validates his shtick that he's the little guy being silenced by a large and sinister voice."

While a spokeswoman for Moore dismissed the US Treasury probe as politically motivated, Sicko's backers have already recruited a high-powered team of spin doctors to counter an expected offensive from the health industry. The Weinstein Co, which is handling Sicko, have hired political strategist Chris Lehane, a former press secretary to Al Gore and a White House spokesman during Bill Clinton's presidency, to manage the film's press campaign. The services of high-powered New York public relations consultant, Ken Sunshine, have also been retained. "If the HMOs (health-care providers) strike, I'm going to need two guys who can strike back," Harvey Weinstein told Daily Variety.

However, in a possible foretaste of things to come, the US health industry has already gone on the attack, questioning Moore's objectivity. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America issued a statement attacking Moore's record. "A review of America's health care system should be balanced, thoughtful and well-researched," the statement said. "You won't get that from Michael Moore. "Michael Moore is a political activist with a track record for sensationalism. He has no intention of being fair and balanced."

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Another big NHS shortfall

A key target in the Government's health reforms - to have thousands of community nurses treating the most seriously ill patients outside hospital - has been missed, with fewer than half the promised numbers in place. A pledge made three years ago to have 3,000 experienced nurses in post by March this year has been delayed, with social workers and less qualified staff having to make up the numbers looking after patients with chronic illnesses. Cost-cutting and a recruitment freeze in the NHS have forced ministers to revise the deadline back one year in order to benefit from record funding increases in 2007-08.

The retreat has emerged as Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, prepares to outline today how œ8 billion of extra NHS funding will be spent this financial year. It is the last planned annual increase, and many NHS chiefs are already preparing for a subsequent period of drastic budgeting. There are more than 17.5 million people living with chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and heart failure. The Department of Health has claimed that cuts to local hospital services could be justified by having experienced senior nurses treating these patients in or close to their homes.

But The Times has learnt that unqualified social workers, physiotherapists and less experienced staff are being used to boost the total number of "case managers" who care for the most chronically ill patients outside hospital. The department's latest estimate is that there were 1,470 community matrons working in the NHS in December, with an official NHS workforce survey suggesting that fewer than 100 were recruited last year.

The target, set by John Reid, the former Health Secretary, during Labour's "Big Conversation" in 2004, aimed to respond to patients' calls for more care nearer to their homes. Ministers claimed that the 500 million pounds community matrons' policy would soon pay for itself by saving 400 million a year through reduced hospital stays.

But Mrs Hewitt admitted yesterday that community care remained poor in some areas. Treating patients with long-term chronic conditions was the "really big challenge" facing the NHS, she said, but she made no direct admission that the target had been missed. "By March next year, 220,000 of the most needy patients will be getting support and care in their homes from 3,000 community matrons and other case managers," she added.

Josie Irwin, head of employment relations at the Royal College of Nursing, said that the figures amounted to a "spectacular failure" of a government policy.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation. Both Australia and Sweden have large private sector health systems with government reimbursement for privately-provided services so can a purely private system with some level of government reimbursement or insurance for the poor be so hard to do?

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, EDUCATION WATCH, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here. For times when blogger.com is playing up, there are mirrors of this site here and here.

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