The concern and outrage controversial Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore created in his anti-corporate healthcare screed Sicko (2007) seems to have spilled over into the land of indie documentary filmmaking. A spate of docs lamenting the state of the healthcare “system” and its effects on everything from mishaps in chronic disease treatment to personal stories of financial ruin at the hands of insurance companies have been released since then — each focusing on troubled niches in healthcare delivery.

Predictably, many of these films have a leftist bent; however, activists on the right have also been preparing similarly themed films — though, focusing on the negative effects government-sponsored care have on patient choice, medical innovation, and, of course, socialized medical care delivery.

While it is welcome that opposing groups find another medium to express and further their agendas with respect to health policy, there may be a darkside: information — no matter how well researched and intentioned for its respective audiences — is power. If that power is misconstrued by the patient as consumer, then sound healthcare policy in the court of public opinion may take that much longer to convince everyone of its merits, regardless of who sits in the White House. | LINK

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