For Immediate Release July 4, 2007
NURSES giving away
free tickets to SiCKO
“Every Albertan who may one day need medical care should see this film,” says UNA Vice-President Bev Dick. “And that’s just about all of us.”
Nurses handed out complimentary tickets in downtown Edmonton on July 4th for the new Michael Moore film SiCKO.
The nurses, dressed in red and white, held a special banner: See SiCKO, it’s good for your health! They also handed out special SiCKO band-aids with slogans like “This will only hurt a bit” and SiCKO promotional posters.
The nurses are also giving SiCKO tickets to Premier Ed Stelmach and Health and Wellness Minister Dave Hancock.
“The Premier should listen to Michael Moore on private health care, just in case he is thinking of trying some of his own health care reform,” Bev Dick says.
“Michael Moore has done a stunning job of explaining why a public system is so important to our society, how it really is a core Canadian value. At the same time, he shows the frightening picture of what free enterprise health care looks like,” Bev Dick explained.
UNA says Albertans should be vigilant about maintaining our universal public health care system. “Reforms” and “innovation” are often code words for attempts to make our public service into a corporate “profit-centre” more like the United States. Albertans refused the “third way” of health reform and reject allowing private insurance industry into medical care in Canada.
“The harsh stories of how American insurance companies increase profits by refusing people medical care are a compelling reason for us to protect our universal public system,” says Bev Dick. “That’s why watching SiCKO is good for the health of Albertans.”
Nurses across the United States are working hard to promote SiCKO as they push for a single-payer health system.
“American nurses strongly support moving to a Canadian style system because they see first-hand the suffering caused by those little words “claim denied” or “procedure declined,” says Bev Dick.
“In Canada we never want to be haunted by “pre-existing conditions,” she said.
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For more information:
Keith Wiley, UNA Communications Officer 780 425-1025
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