Health Care Reform Needs an Action Hero

Imagine the scene. America 2009. Eighteen thousand people have died in one year, an average of almost 50 a day. Who's taking them out? What's killing them?

To investigate, President Barack Obama might be tempted to call on Jack Bauer, the fictional rogue intelligence agent from the hit TV series 24, who invariably employs torture and a host of other illegal tactics to help the president fight terrorism. But terrorism is not the culprit here: It's lack of adequate health care.

So maybe the president's solution isn't Jack Bauer, but rather the actor who plays him.

The star of 24 is played by Kiefer Sutherland, whose family has very deep connections to health-care reform -- in Canada. Sutherland is the grandson of Tommy Douglas, the pioneering Canadian politician who is credited with creating the modern Canadian health-care system. As a youth, Tommy Douglas almost lost his ailing leg. His family could not afford treatment, but a doctor treated him for free, provided his medical students could observe. As an adult, Douglas saw the impact of widespread poverty caused by the Great Depression. Trained as a minister, he had a feisty temperament and a popular oratorical style.

He moved into politics, joining the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation party. After several years in Parliament, he led the CCF's decisive victory in the province of Saskatchewan, ushering in the first social democratic government in North America.

Douglas became premier of Saskatchewan, and pioneered a number of progressive policies there, including the expansion of public utilities, unionization and public auto insurance. But Douglas' biggest battle, for which he is best remembered, is the creation of universal health insurance, called Medicare. It passed in Saskatchewan in 1962, guaranteeing hospital care for all residents. Doctors there staged a 23-day strike, supported by the U.S.-based American Medical Association. Despite industry opposition, the Saskatchewan Medicare program was so successful and popular that it was adopted throughout Canada. While Tommy Douglas was fighting for health insurance in Canada, a similar battle was raging in the U.S., resulting in the passage of Medicare and Medicaid, giving guaranteed, single-payer health care to senior citizens and the poor.

Rush Limbaugh, Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck and insurance-industry-funded groups are encouraging people to disrupt town-hall meetings with members of Congress. A number of the confrontations have become violent, or at least threatening. Outside President Obama's Portsmouth, N.H., event, a protester with a pistol strapped to his thigh drew further attention with a sign that read, "It is time to water the tree of Liberty." Thomas Jefferson's complete quote, not included on the sign, continues, "... with the blood of tyrants and patriots."

Rush Limbaugh says 24 is one of his favorite shows. He has even visited the set. Limbaugh should learn from the real-life actor who plays his hero, Jack. Limbaugh and his cohorts may find truth not as satisfying as fiction.

In 2004, a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. poll named Tommy Douglas "The Greatest Canadian." At a protest in 2000 against efforts to roll back the Medicare system in the province of Alberta, Kiefer Sutherland defended Canada's public, single-payer system:

"Private health care does not work. America is trying to change their system. It's too expensive to get comprehensive medical care in the U.S. Why on earth are we going to follow their system here? I consider it a humanitarian issue. This is an issue about what is right and wrong, what is decent and what is not."

Maybe Jack Bauer can save the day.

Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column. Check out more by Amy Goodman at Democracy Now!

Follow Amy Goodman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/democracy_now

Comments

[creolechild]

05:28 PM on 08/27/2009

If you are concerned about receiving "real" health care reform in this country, please take the time to watch a video on our current system. The video was created by Oregon physicians who are advocating for the single-payer option. The video is very informative and helped me to gain a better understanding of various aspect of health care, as we know now it.

https://www.madashelldoctorstour.com/Mad_as_Hell_Video.html

These Oregon physicians are in the process of organizing a caravan designed to inform the public about the benefits of the single-payer option. At last count they will be stopping in approximately 23 states, on their way to demonstrate in Washington. They need volunteers and our support. Please spread the word.

[KenKo]

12:16 AM on 08/15/2009

Both parents have benefited from the Canadian health care systems; my father for pancreatic surgery arising from chronic diabetes, and my mother from lung surgery due to a metastizing tumour. She has even been in ICU (with her own private nurse and room, and state of the art machinery), and rehab for 3 months. All courtesy of taxpayers. Yes we pay a wee bit more taxes; I pay a nominal premium of Cdn$300 per year, and our income taxes (federal and provincial) are only a little higher than neighbouring US states, but certainly nowhere near your average US health care premium! We get to choose our own family doctors, who communicate directly with specialists and who deal directly with hospitals on patient care without going through an insurance company for approval. Life threatening surgeries are dealt with on urgent basis, and if the means was not available in the country, the patient would be treated at the nearest available facility elsewhere. What's there not to like? I suppose our doctors don't earn half a million a year but they don't deal with unending forms and phone calls and arguments with insurance companies, and they don't wait 3 months for payment. Are their still insurance companies in Canada? Of course but they handle issues not covered by primary care such as vision care, dental, disability and critical care. One nice benefit, we are not tied to a job to keep getting insured; so our companies are competitive and employees are mobile.

[blue meanie]

12:04 AM on 08/13/2009

If we really did have a 'liberal media' we might have heard more about Tommy Douglas before now. Or I should say, before Amy Goodman and Democracy Now!

[vjoseph]

09:32 PM on 08/12/2009

Well done Amy. As a Canuck, I am grateful to Kiefer's father

[drricklippin]

08:11 PM on 08/12/2009

I'm for using two former Governors more to come to the rescue. Both are Doctors

Howard Dean -Vermont
John Kitzhaber-Oregon

Dr. Rick Lippin
Southampton,Pa

[SayBlade]

06:06 PM on 08/12/2009

Uh, I don't know that you necessarily need a Canadian to champion this cause. Although, thankfully, Canadians have Ralph Nader to thank for helping promote an informed positive image of Canada.

You might try someone closer to home. Dennis Kucinich, perhaps?

http://sayblade.blogspot.com/2009/08/just-add-glasses.html

[campgranata]

03:16 PM on 08/12/2009

no, use jack to end the wars. until that happens, figure out a way to get access into the health system for physicals and testing for the millions who do not have health care. after that when we have the money to do so fix what is broken in our health care. I lived in Canada and the healthcare system sucks. when we wintered in Italy one year we we told that people die in ambulances as there are no hospital beds for them. Our landlord said, very wisely, I thought, when it is free* you need more facilities not less.

*of course it is never really free

[SayBlade]

06:12 PM on 08/12/2009

Living my entire life in Canada and I can say that my health care has been very efficient, timely and effective. I have used emergency services, walk in clinics and my regular family doctor. Yes, it's not really free in the sense that it is publicly supported. But then, all you do is present your health card, not your credit card.

[sockman]

03:10 PM on 08/12/2009

"Limbaugh and his cohorts may find truth not as satisfying as fiction." Amy, this is exactly why they live in the realm of fantasy, downright lies and misinformation.