Forum Post: Bill Moyers / Wendall Potter - indictment of privatized Healthcare
Posted 12 years ago on Jan. 25, 2012, 3:30 p.m. EST by Underdog
(2971)
from Clermont, FL
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
This video, 37 minutes long, exposes everything that is wrong with healthcare in America today. This is a good example of how capitalism operates within a specific industry to the detriment of American citizens, with commentary by someone who knows the inside of it very well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QwX_soZ1GI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Thanks for posting this message.
You can also watch this on Bill Moyers website http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/profile.html
Potter's book is excellent " Deadly Spin" and explains in depth about Obama's attempt to reform healthcare which is actually just an attempt to appease Big Insurance. Everyone should watch this video and read that book!!! Medicine in the USA is very corrupted by business and therefore, deadly to millions of Americans each year. This is why I refuse to have health insurance. I refuse to pay into a system that is designed to protect profit at the expense of my well being, safety and health.
Your welcome.
Might I inquire about your age? I am 56 and required to take daily maintenance medication. I am unemployed, but my wife works and I am on her insurance. I probably couldnt afford to "go rogue". How are you getting by without insurance? What happens in the event of a serious injury or illness that could cost thousands?
I'm just about to turn 51! :( I'm an AARPer ..hahahah
Can I suggest something for you? I don't know what your daily medication is for but if it's a statin or blood pressure medication, can you please find a doctor in your area that can help you get off that medication and teach you how to be healthy without medication? That's what my husband and I did and it changed our lives. We take no meds, we don't even get sick anymore..knock on wood. Our current doctor focuses on preventive medicine. When we had insurance, we were sick all the time!! Part of that is because we felt the need to go to the doctor for every little issue in order to get our money's worth. The other part of that is that the system is designed to keep you sick by giving your medications that cause additional side effects. They don't treat us to cure us, they just treat symptoms. My father died from ALS/Lou Gehrigs disease that was caused by his statin drug. His death was horrible. I began putting money into a savings account/money market account and I used that for any special medical expense or dental expense. My money was earning a small amount of course, but better than nothing. Here's what happens IF you don't have insurance and you happen to get sick.....you go to the emergency room, not a regular dr's office ( assuming that you are seriously ill) and you will get room immediately and get care and then you can pay a small monthly fee based on a sliding scale. If you call an ambulance it's even faster service. I learned to do this from my own doctor! This happened to me in '03 and I got rid of my insurance in 01. I admit that at first I was scared not to have it but after almost being killed by my doctor at the time and learning why that happened, I realized that I was much safer being able to get ethical medical care without insurance. In o3 I ended up in the hospital because my doctor gave me an antibiotic that they KNEW was dangerous and it literally almost killed me. I was just seconds from a diabetic drug induced coma. But the doctor prescribed the medication/actually gave me the samples for free which I thought was so kind of her and she did this because she gets kickbacks from big pharma. The drug was banned shortly after my experience. Most Americans have been brainwashed into believing that they need insurance and if I had kids, I would probably have something. But, I have managed to save over 50,000 dollars by NOT paying those ridiculous premiums that pay for nothing but crapshot medicine that is based on industry funded science. It's truly not safe and I used to work in the medical field! If you are at least interested in finding a different doctor I may be able to help you. You can email me privately if you would like. I completely understand your fear but I do believe that in most cases, if not all, the fear is over rated and unnecessary. The bottom line is that the worst thing that could happen is that you may need to file bankruptcy and as awful as that may sound, it's really not the end of the world whereas being killed by a corrupt medical system IS! A friend of mine had breast cancer and no insurance and I asked her about her situation and guess what? She gets the same or even better care than your wife would and she makes monthly payments. She also had surgery done on her veins in her legs and same things. The doctors sometimes frown on those who don't have insurance but it's partly because they have been brainwashed and partly because they can't inflate their prices.
Another option too is to use the healthcare department for just regular checkups. I go to planned parenthood for my obgyn checkups because it's SO CHEAP and the doctor is better than any ob/gyn that I've been to! I only pay 29.00 for an annual checkup. That's less than some copayments!
Go to Dr. Mercola's website for an honest education on medical therapies and health information. He truly is a good guy and would not scam anyone. He's like Dr. Oz only a bit more honest than Oz is willing to be.
Here's another good video for you to watch: http://www.naturalmedicine.com/news/natural-healthcare/dr-weil-on-larry-king-discusses-health/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4jG-5kF8tM
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03076/A-Health-Care-Call-to-Action-by-Andrew-Weil-MD.html
WOW!!! Yours is a truly interesting and fascinating story. It will take me some time to digest it all. It certainly is not the normal approach and, therefore, requires serious attention and research.
I'm truly happy you don't require any meds. My youngest stepson is in his first year residency as a D.O. and I would love to get his take on this.
Thanks again!
If your stepson is going to be a D.O. then he is probably well aware of the value of preventive medicine. Dr. Mercola is a D.O. as well but then again I'm assuming your son is in America and not another country because D.O. degrees differ in practical application from country to country. I wish your son the best and all the patience he can muster. I personally dropped out of med school when it became so consumed with managed care red tape back in the eighties. I would have not been a happy doctor. I chose environmental toxicology.
Yes he is in the USA. Yes he has talked before about PM. Really think DOs are a better way to go educationally than MDs.
ET sounds like an interesting field. Don't think I remember having talked to someone in that line of work. What is it that you focus on exactly?
The focus of my work has varied over the years. I'm no longer employed by anyone ( my husband and I have a different business today) but I am still involved with SETAC and my old peers. Over the years I've worked in municipal toxic reduction studies ( oil spills, municipal discharge) and as an independent scientist at universities, as a marine scientist and currently I consult part time with companies on remediation projects on the Ches. Bay. As much I wanted to be a physician, I don't regret changing my career path when I did. My mentor at the time told me that I would hate being a doctor and that I would either get fired or would end up hating myself for tolerating the system. For many years I admit that I felt that I had betrayed myself by quitting but given the steady exponential decline in medicine, I'm really glad that I did. I did consider working in Africa at the Schweitzer Hospital and I know that I would really enjoy that today. I suppose that my desire to be a doctor had nothing to do with income or prestige and had everything to do with wanting to educate and heal and thankfully, my mentor knew me well. Tomorrow I am visiting a new dentist.....wish me luck! It's a coin toss as to whether he will be a typical slave to biotech or a truly caring and conscientious doctor ( he actually is an MD).
Thanks for the background. Good to know you are at peace about your decision and no regrets. There are millions of people who get up everyday and go to working hating their jobs and their life. Glad to hear you escaped that.
Good luck with your dental visit. I myself have a dentist who I think is one of the most thorough I have ever had. Sometimes have some trouble with billing and her office staff, but don't hold that against her. In the big scheme of things those annoyances are nothing compared to the care I get.
Hey Undie, Check this out: http://www.naturalnews.com/034775_dentist_paper_clips_root_canal.html
I may need more than luck tomorrow. Are you a religious man? If so, please say a prayer for me. hahahhaha
OMG!!!!! He should have the same dental procedure performed on him as punishment. Reminds me of Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man (remember that flick?).
Probably don't have a lot to worry about (I hope). Good luck!
I'll probably be ok. How often can that sort of thing happen, right? :( Can you imagine showing up at his office with his staff stoned on pain meds? hahaha Hello, hello, is anybody in there? hahahha I remember Marathon man but now I've got to watch it again because I can't remember the plot.
I won't have to deal with the billing issues since I pay cash...another perk of not having insurance! hahahhaha
I had a bridge put in two years ago and ever since then I've had one issue after another related to the change in my bite/ TMJ disorder. So, even though I love my dentist and he's a good friend, I believe that it's time for a change. I am a fiddler as well and I cannot perform with TMJ disorder without intense miserable pain. ENUFF is ENUFF! :D
Still no defense from the "right"?
No insults for Moyers?
The truth MUST be ignored, or deflected, by all possible means, if your a (R)epelican't.
Where's the lib(R)tarian comments???
Where's the li(R)etarian complaints about coercion?
I just found these videos of the Wise County Health Fair ( they automatically run in sequence) that Potter visited and it's truly heartbreaking. I'm still wiping my tears. I can see why Potter was so enlightened:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/interactives/healingfields/
Thanks! I'm starting to get so many videos thrown at me from other Forum posts that I'm beginning to wonder how I'll make time for them, but I'll do my best to make time for you.
Isn't it wonderful to have so many ' friends'? The Underdog is quite popular these days. The videos I posted are not that long but they are very moving. Tell your stepson that I hope he will consider a trip to Wise. Watching this video made me want to go back to med school.
Strangely enough, this has been ignored by the astro turfers.
More people need to see this video and read the book.
It was Wendall that showed me the reality of multi-pronged marketing/PR.
Taught me of it's insidious purposes.
At any rate, this deserves a bump.
Yeah, I thought this should be more widely disseminated.
Wendall's book " Deadly Spin" should be on the required reading list.
I learned much, by reading it. Even the history of the anti-health care practice of the "industry".
How they prefer to spend money on PR instead of heath care.
I actually have the audiobook and I have listened to it many times and each time I learn even more. When Potter talked about his visit to Wise County, VA, I was deeply touched because my dad's family is from that town and I know first hand how depressed that coal mining town is and although it doesn't represent a large portion of our nation, it certainly represents the thousands of economically depressed counties around the country that are completely ignored. Ironically, UVA has a campus there and it's still considered ' off the map".
This is a great video. Glad you posted it!!!
My pleasure. Wish every American who opposes Single-Payer would watch this. They might change their minds.
Have you seen this? http://www.donoharmdoc.com/about.asp
No I haven't, but sounds like something I'd be interested in seeing. Can I view it for free in its entirety on-line somewhere instead of just watching clips?
I don't know if there is anything available for free. There is a current war on those that make documentaries and especially those that expose truth. They usually have such a fight to bring it to the public that I don't want to engage in something that takes from them. If you run a search on Dr. John Bagnato and Charles Rehberg you can find information. There is a case that was heard by the Supreme Court. The following link contains a transcript
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2011/nov/01/us-high-court-considers-albany-suit-over-false-tes/
This next article contains information regarding the case, and probably should be read first. http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2011/oct/30/supreme-court-to-hear-rehberg-case/
This interview is from 2009 with Bagnato http://www.opednews.com/articles/Exposing-Huge-Hidden-Profi-by-Joan-Brunwasser-090908-38.html
Thanks. It will probably take some time for me to get to this, but I'll try soon.
Yes Health care insurance/insurers and Health care providers/corporations. Both very much in need of control and reform.
Again as always - Follow the money. What goes in, what it pays for ( actual real world cost for supplies material personnel ) and what goes out ( to whom and how much ).
Further to the above, please also see :
a) "The Washington-Wall Street Revolving Door Keeps Spinning", by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30348.htm .
b) "Citizens United - Against Secret Corporate Campaign Cash", by Isaiah J. Poole : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30318.htm &
c) "Corporate Rule Is Not Inevitable - 7 signs the corporatocracy is losing its legitimacy ... and 7 populist tools to help shut it down.", by Sarah van Gelder : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30320.htm .
fiat justitia ...
Yes another indictment to get WallStreet, Private interests, Corporations and money out of "OUR" government.
There is a saying : Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
But it does not seem that this would be a case of keeping close tabs on those who would destroy our country. I think that there would be better ways to keep tabs on WallStreet.