Documentary Film & Discussion Series Presents a Film About Our Health Care System, Sept. 10
The Documentary Film & Discussion Series, sponsored by the Ashland Friends of the Library, presents the film Health, Money and Fear: A Film about Our Health Care System, Thursday, September 10. The film will be shown at 7:00 pm in the Library’s Community Room, Ashland Public Library, 66 Front Street, Ashland, MA, and is free and open to the public. Viewers are invited to stay for discussion.
Dr. Paul Hochfeld, emergency room physician at Corvallis Oregon, produced this film because he says, “Our health care system is beyond broken or sick; it's dumb.”
This documentary separates health care system fact from myth, and features interviews with twelve doctors, including Paul Ginsberg, PhD, President of the Center for Studying Health System Change and former Deputy Assistant Director of the Congressional Budget Office, and Dr. Marcia Angell, Senior Lecturer in Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and author of “The Truth about Drug Companies.”
The U.S. spends more than twice as much per capita than most developed countries. The U.S. taxpayer is already paying for 60% of the total bill, and, by any measure of public health, the results are poor. Driven by technology and fear of liability, physicians order tests and treatments without regard for cost. Drug companies successfully market expensive drugs that, at best, are marginally more effective than less expensive, older ones. As primary care providers disappear costs will rise and outcomes will worsen. Most significantly, the insurance industry adds nothing to “health” and greatly to total cost. State governments divert money to health care from education, infrastructure and protecting the environment. Local governments divert money from schools, libraries, police, and fire services to keep up with ever increasing health insurance premiums.The Documentary Film & Discussion Series meets every 2nd Thursday and 4th Tuesday of the month for an in-depth look at important topics of our day. The discussions are often lively and thought-provoking. All points of view are welcomed.
