Utah legislators get invitation to 'Sicko'

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jul 11, 2007 | by Elaine Jarvik Deseret Morning News

Dr. Clark Newhall wants to take Utah's 104 legislators to the movies.

The Salt Lake lawyer/physician thinks the state's lawmakers need to see "Sicko," Michael Moore's newly released documentary about the U.S. health-care industry. So he has mailed them each an invitation and will hand out free tickets for a showing on Tuesday, July 17, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas.

He's also inviting Utah's uninsured. "The real point is to come see if your legislator shows up, if he cares enough about your health care," Newhall says. "My guess is 'no,' but maybe I'll be surprised." Each unclaimed ticket will be given away to someone who is either uninsured or who has been denied coverage.

Newhall says he chose July 17 for the showing because it is the evening before the Legislature's interim session. He has also invited the CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, the president of Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield and other local health-care officials.

"I think if they watch the movie it will change the terms of the debate," says Newhall, an outspoken trial attorney who often takes on the medical establishment. "It will change it from a debate over slogans that are meaningless and stupid and lack any foundation, to a debate over facts."

Whenever he talks to legislators about universal health care, he says, "I hear the following slogans: 'socialized medicine, wait times, foreign doctors, poor medical care, and America has the best medical care in the world.' Michael Moore makes hash of all five of those, because they're untrue."

America's current health-care system, Newhall argues, ranks low among economically developed countries in rankings by groups such as the World Health Organization in areas such as infant mortality, patient satisfaction and number of medical practitioners per person.

"Eighteen thousand people a year die in the United States because of lack of health insurance," Newhall says.

As for arguments that universal health care would be tantamount to socialized medicine, he says, "We already have it; it's called 'Medicare."'

As of Tuesday, Newhall had an RSVP from only one legislator.

He has also invited filmmaker Michael Moore but hasn't heard back from him either. Moore is the controversial creator of "Fahrenheit 9/ 11," about President Bush's response to the attacks of Sept. 11, as well as "Roger and Me" and the Academy Award-winning "Bowling for Columbine."

Moore's prescription for America's health-care system is: "Every resident of the United States must have free, universal care for life. All health insurance companies must be abolished. Pharmaceutical companies must be strictly regulated like a public utility."

E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com