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Will 'Sicko' Change America's Views of Socialized Medicine?

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Sicko, the latest film by Michael Moore, is a scathing attack on America’s for-profit health care system. Few people have seen the film, but already it’s being denounced as a call for “socialized medicine.” Is that slogan distorting debate on a crucial issue? What are the pros and cons of single-payer, government run health systems? On Reporter's Notebook, Vice President Cheney claims he’s immune from both Congressional probes and Executive orders.  Is he his own branch of government?   

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Main Topic

Michael Moore, Insurance Companies and 'Socialized Medicine' ()

Michael Moore's latest film Sicko dramatizes the sometimes deadly shortcomings of America's health care system. When people who have insurance are denied payment by a profit-oriented bureaucracy, they either pay the bills and go bankrupt or go without medical treatment that could save their lives.  Sicko advocates abolishing insurance companies and regulating the drug industry. It also embraces a Canadian-style, government-run health care system, the kind that advocates of the status quo denounce as "socialized medicine."

Guests:
  • Phyllis Richardson: Expat-American writer living in England
  • David Gratzer: Physician and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute in New York
  • Ezekiel Emanuel: Chair of the Department of Clinical Bioethics at the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center
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Reporter's Notebook

Could Cheney Not be Part of the Executive Branch? ()

To prevent Congress from poking into his business, Vice President Cheney has often invoked claims of Executive Privilege. Now he’s resisting a Presidential order on classified information. Can he have it both ways?

Guests:
  • Garrett Epps: Professor of Law at The University of Oregon
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