AN AMERICAN MYTH
"WHO CARES "

A 120:00 Theatrical Feature Documentary Film Report.
Project Director and Chief Investigator:
Dr. Mayumi Naramura MD, Ph.D Northwestern University Research Dept.

PREMISE:

The producers of the proposed film “WHO CARES” believe that any form of Affordable Universal Health Coverage in the United States of America will never be implemented unless the majority of its citizens are educated and convinced through the use of the mass media that it will be to their benefit and the national interest.

The goal of this film project is to begin the struggle for affordable quality healthcare for all Americans at multiple levels. We do not wish to target so-called “liberal” audience and “preach to the choir” with this film. In order to stimulate fruitful discussions on healthcare reform, we have to reach out to a wide range of audience, liberals and conservatives, healthcare providers and consumers, employers and employees, and send a strong message that the implementation of an affordable universal health coverage will be a win-win situation for (almost) everyone.

“A nation cannot be a healthy, strong, and prospering nation, if its citizens are not cared for as a good parent cares for his/her own children, affording them all the best health care that can be achieved in a joint effort of research, care, medication and efficient management of all of these things.”

CONCEPT:

The unfounded myth that Americans are the healthiest and American healthcare is the best in the world is the subject of this two-hour theatrical documentary film. By taking the viewers on a brief investigative tour of the healthcare systems in eight countries beyond the United States, we will show the American public how they have been totally misled by a group of special interest organizations into accepting the false notion that Americans are the healthiest and best cared for people in the world. We will also demonstrate how disproportionate profit margins in the for-profit healthcare system in the US are creating unnecessary financial burdens on the business sectors, depriving them of fiscal competitiveness against foreign counterparts. In short, healthcare in America is becoming a major “rip-off”.

The goal of this project is to create a better understanding of the alternatives to the current dysfunctional healthcare delivery systems and to produce a climate in all spectrums of the American public to demand a universal health coverage that is as cost-effective and high-quality as those enjoyed by citizens of other industrialized nations.

Through the brief but in-depth interviews with health policy experts, healthcare providers and consumers in Japan, Australia, Germany, France, England, Sweden, Brazil and Canada, we will debunk the America-as-No. 1 myth and make the American public realize that America has one of the worst healthcare systems in the industrial world.

On the domestic side, we will interview a bipartisan group of politicians, corporate as well as labor leaders. Republican Senator John McCain will hopefully opens a quality bipartisan dialogue on this issue.

We will interview Congressmen John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich as well as Senators John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Jim Jeffords, Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton and Robert Bird and Democratic Party Chairman Dr. Howard Dean. We will also interview Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois who has pushed for open purchase of medications from Canada. We will also interview leaders from the religious communities of America, Representatives from the Southern Baptist Convention, the Catholic Church, Jewish, as well as members of the Protestant church organizations.

We will also interview corporate leaders who have begun to realize that the cost of their employee health benefit is cutting too deeply into their profit margins and labor leaders that are pressured to choose between pay raises and health benefits for their union members. A few examples of these labor leaders will be Mr. Ron Gettlefinger, President of the United Auto Workers Union, Mr. Andrew Stern, President of the SEIU and Mr. Jim Hoffa, President of the Teamster Union. On the corporate side we will interview Mr. William Ford of the Ford Motor Company who has expressed his concern about the exorbitantly rising cost of healthcare insurance. We will also interview business leaders from foreign countries that have business interest in America. One of these is the Ahold Corporation of the Netherlands who we have already made contact with.

Because of the grave psychological effect that the absence of health care has on such a vast portion of the total population of America, we will also interview psychiatrists for their opinions on how this defect affects the psyche of the nation as a whole and how this conditions diminishes the potential for productivity and relates to crime and other related societal problems that diminish the strength of the nation.

We will also seek comments from healthcare providers and related communities that have an enormous stake in this issue, such as physicians, hospital administrators, insurance providers, pharmaceutical companies and lawyers who specialize in the medical issues. We fully anticipate oppositions and resistance from the parties that will (either real or imagined) lose more than they would gain if the current healthcare system is reformed. However, we will stress the moral/humanitarian crises provoked by the for-profit healthcare delivery system in the US and try to appeal to their conscience. In case we are denied interviews from these parties, we will document the process of our efforts to obtain an opportunity for interviews.

We have already enlisted the assistance of Dr. Quentin Young of PNHP (Physicians for a National Health Program) who has spent over 20 years working to realize the goal of a humane, cost-effective and universal healthcare system in the United States.

Our program’s spokesperson will be a young American MD who has a deep understanding in public health issues. She will also be an attractive person with a keen intelligence and a biting wit. The basic tack she will use is the French philosophical attitude of “ridicule”, which Voltaire employed so productively in his most socially caustic works. Picture an appealing Michael Moore, if you will, to give you an idea of our spokesperson.

This film is intended for theatrical distribution, which will reach out to the largest number of potential viewers in an environment most conducive to make an impact on the public. In order to achieve this goal, we will use the “road movie” reality story technique. The story will be about two young women, the one being our doctor spokesperson and the other a young documentary filmmaker who is making the “documentary” portion of the film. Using this technique we will introduce realistic human elements conveyed by the likable and interesting personalities of our characters. This allows us to make this film entertaining and thought-provoking simultaneously and present our message in a palatable manner.

Ridicule, the key undertone of our piece, is the basis upon which Mr. Moore has successfully reached to millions of people who would have otherwise remained silent towards political as well as other social injustices perpetrated by the current administration and ingrained to our nation’s psyche by years of propaganda campaigns from very rich and powerful special interest groups using disinformation tactics.

Simply reflect on the title of his best selling book, “Stupid White Men”. Perhaps he may not have as much impact on the world order as did Voltaire, the originator of the concept, but he has surely, through the use of that same “ridicule”, opened the eyes of hoards of sleep-walking people. Therefore it is our intention to use this same psychological form, “ridicule”, not so much as a test of truth but as a scourge of folly in order to also help wake the misinformed American public.

Although we intend to use “ridicule” as an underlying tone of this piece, we will by no means intend to insult or in any other way demean those who do not agree with our premises. Instead, we will let them speak their agenda for themselves and simply hold it up to the facts of historical analysis.

Furthermore we will be mindful that this project is a part of a larger plan to positively influence and subsequently alter the thought patterns of those very people who hold the keys to the changes we seek. Hence our ultimate goal is to realize a common good for ALL Americans.

It is therefore important that we consider at all times how the future of our entire audience will be affected by the changes we offer to them. Each scene must be planned with the goal of such change in mind, and by showing support for those people and their concerns, the process of the creation of a new health care system can be realized.

The specific areas to be covered will be, for profit corporate health care providers; quality of care versus cost to the government & consumer; patient satisfaction; world health statistic and standings; healthcare professionals; doctors, nurses as well as technicians satisfaction with working environment and personal attitudes and research and development of new products, treatments and medications.

FUNDING:

It is our intention that the project will be funded by a joint group of labor unions and progressive sponsors such as the Center for American Progress, UFCW, UAW and the SEIU. The UFCW has already contributed financially to this project.

Renaissance Films of Chicago, IL. will do the actual production of the film. Renaissance is an award-winning documentary and advertising film production company. Frans Stracensky, a national award winning director and a principle, will direct this project.

Dr. Quentin Young, President, Physicians for a National Health Program Inc., will be the overall project adviser. Dr. Young will be the chief liaison on the project as well as one of the on-camera interviewees. Dr. Elinor Cristiansen, VP (retired), The Women’s American Medical Association, will also be an interviewee as well as a consultant on this film.