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Michael Moore's Documentary "Sicko" Premiers in Sacramento as Filmmaker Makes a House Call at the Capitol to Boost Single Payer Health Care Reform

Backers of SB 840 Predict "Sicko" Blockbuster Will Do for Health Care What Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" Has Done for Global Warming

By Frank D. Russo

Oscar winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, known for hard hitting films such as “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Bowling for Columbine,” will appear in Sacramento on June 12 for the first public showing of his new film "Sicko" on the American health care system and brief legislators in the Capitol as part of an effort to pass Sheila Kuehl's SB 840. A rally outside the state Capitol is also scheduled by the California Nurses Association which is sponsoring Moore's visit.

California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who has his own health care bill, AB 8, has also announced that he is hosting the Sacramento premiere of “Sicko” and will meet with Moore in the Capitol to discuss health care issues. Nunez's office indicates the showing of the film will be open to legislators, the media, and VIPs.

The film will not open in theatres nationwide until June 29th. A website promoting the film says it:

"sets out to investigate the American healthcare system. Sticking to his tried-and-true one-man approach, Moore sheds light on the complicated medical affairs of individuals and local communities.

This might hurt a little."

The noon briefing for legislative co-authors of SB 840 will be held in the largest room in the Capitol and is sponsored by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, chair of the Senate Health Committee. It will be followed by a rally at 2 p.m. on the West steps of the Capitol with Moore, the California Nurses Association, and Physicians for a National Health Program. Then there will be a special premiere of “SiCKO” for RNs, doctors and invited guests.

It is unclear whether there will be one or two screenings of the film.

The California Nurses Association and the National Nurses Organizing Committee is working with Physicians for a National Health Program, Health Care-Now, and other groups across the U.S. to promote the film and build a broader movement for genuine reform, like SB 840 or HR 676 in Congress that would establish a single-payer system similar to an expanded and improved Medicare for all.

CAN Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro, who attended a private screening in New York, notes that “SiCKO” is “not just an indictment of an indefensible healthcare industry in the U.S. It's a rejoinder for those who think we can fix the soulless monster by tinkering with an unconscionable system that puts us further in thrall to those who created the crisis.”

“At a time when the apologists of accommodation are promoting the lowest common denominator, Moore most of all offers a vision and hope,” says DeMoro. That hope, she says, is symbolized by SB 840, which is pending before the state legislature, and HR 676.

When asked about this movie, Michael Moore said, "If people ask, we tell them 'Sicko' is a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on Earth."

To watch a trailer of the film, click here.

Posted on June 01, 2007

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