Healthcare Topics

Democracy Now! continues to closely follow the movement to reform the healthcare system in the United States. We have interviewed policy makers, doctors, patients, independent journalists, academics, single payer healthcare advocates, and filmmakers.

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Judge with GOP Ties Strikes Down Key Healthcare Provision on Insurance Mandates

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled the government cannot force Americans to purchase mandatory health insurance or face penalties. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the state of Virginia, one of two dozen challenging the law in federal courts nationwide. The debate over the law is expected to end up before the Supreme Court. The judge in the case, Judge Henry Hudson, is the part-owner of Campaign Solutions, a Republican consulting firm...
Dec 14, 2010 | Story
"The Health Insurance Industry’s Vendetta Against Michael Moore." By Amy Goodman

Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, makes great movies but they are not generally considered “cliff-hangers.” All that might change since a whistle-blower on the “Democracy Now!” news hour revealed that health insurance executives thought they may have to implement a plan “to push Moore off a cliff.”
Nov 24, 2010 | Columns & Articles
Dr. Gabor Maté on ADHD, Bullying and the Destruction of American Childhood

A spike in diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other mental disorders has fueled an unprecedented reliance on pharmaceutical medications to treat children, with long-term effects that remain unknown. We speak with Canadian physician and bestselling author, Dr. Gabor Maté. He argues that these responses are treating surface symptoms as causes while ignoring deeper roots. Dr. Maté says children are in fact reacting...
Nov 24, 2010 | Story
The Fear of Sicko: CIGNA Whistleblower Wendell Potter Apologizes to Michael Moore for PR Smear Campaign; Moore Says Industry Was Afraid Film Would Cause a "Tipping Point" for Healthcare Reform

We host a joint interview with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore and Wendell Potter, who was the head of corporate communications for the health insurance giant CIGNA when Moore’s film Sicko was released in 2007. Potter left the company in 2008 and has since become the industry’s most prominent whistleblower. In the interview, Potter apologizes for his role in the industry’s attack on Moore and the film.

Moore accepted...
Nov 23, 2010 | Story
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann Plays Excerpt of Democracy Now! Interview With Health Insurance Whistleblower Wendell Potter on Industry's Attack on Michael Moore's "Sicko"

Following our interview with Wendell Potter, the former chief spokesman for CIGNA, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann invited Potter on his show to discuss the health insurance industry’s attack on Michael Moore and his film SiCKO.
Nov 18, 2010 | D.N. in the News
"Push Michael Moore Off a Cliff": Health Insurance Whistleblower Wendell Potter Details How the Industry Attacked Michael Moore’s Film _Sicko_

When Academy Award-winning film director Michael Moore announced he would be making a documentary about the American healthcare system in 2004, it put the health insurance industry on high alert. One person who immediately went on the offensive was Wendell Potter, who at the time was the chief spokesperson for insurance giant CIGNA. Last year, Potter became the industry’s most prominent whistleblower. We speak to Potter about his role in attacking...
Nov 17, 2010 | Story
"Push Michael Moore Off a Cliff:" Health Insurance Whistleblower Wendell Potter Details How the Industry Attacked Michael Moore’s Film _Sicko_

When Academy Award-winning film director Michael Moore announced he would be making a documentary about the American healthcare system in 2004, it put the health insurance industry on high alert. [includes rush transcript]
Nov 16, 2010 | Web Exclusive
Wendell Potter on "Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans"

In the wake of the midterm elections, Republican lawmakers are vowing to repeal or defund the Democrats’ landmark healthcare reform bill that President Obama signed into law earlier this year. A health insurance insider-turned-whistleblower argues that, instead of repealing the law altogether, Republicans will ultimately settle for gutting the law of its provisions that protect consumers. That’s because the insurance industry is a...
Nov 16, 2010 | Story
Congress OKs Final Changes to Healthcare Overhaul

Congress has approved a package of final changes to the landmark healthcare overhaul. The House of Representatives put the finishing touches on the bill Thursday night after the Senate approved the package on a 56-43 vote. The reconciliation package does not include a public insurance option, though backers of the plan said they will work to see it implemented in follow-up legislation. [includes rush transcript]
Mar 26, 2010 | Story
Palliative Care Pioneer Dr. Diane Meier on How People Struggle with Serious, Sometimes Terminal, Illness

As President Obama signs the landmark heathcare bill into law, we look at palliative care — the care needed by people struggling with serious illnesses. We’ll talk to a pioneer in the field, Dr. Diane Meier. [includes rush transcript]
Mar 24, 2010 | Story