The Rest of the Story

The movie shows archival film of Dr. Linda Peeno testifying before Congress about abuses in managed care.  She tells the tearful story of the time she denied a medically necessary heart transplant to save money - causing the death of the man in need of the new heart. The film insinuates she was an executive with Humana who was promoted for denying care. In fact, she was a part-time contractor who worked with Humana for less than one year.  According to a Humana spokesman "she implies she was promoted for saving money by denying care. As a part-time contractor, she was never a Humana associate, and therefore never received any sort of promotion or other career advancement from Humana."

Humana also explains what actually happened during the incident in question:   "...during a 1987 telephone conversation, she [Dr. Peeno] was asked by a hospital doctor whether the member's plan covered heart transplants. Since the member's employer had not purchased heart transplant coverage, she correctly answered 'no.' The member was discharged from the hospital and lived at least another two years. He was no longer covered by Humana after March of 1988."

It's very doubtful that a patient in Canada, Britain or France would have received a heart transplant in 1987 either.  If they were added to a transplant list, they might not have lived long enough to receive needed care.

In fact, nearly 90 percent of British doctors say access to new cancer drugs is a problem for patients. More than half of British patients diagnosed with cancer never get to see a cancer specialist. Rather than admitting to patients say that the NHS can not afford the newest treatments, some doctors simply lie to their patients and say no treatments are available.

About 25,000 Britons die unnecessarily for lack of the latest cancer therapies that are routinely available in other developed countries.

UK cancer care 'fails patients'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/511286.stm

How thousands of cancer patients and doctors have been betrayed

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/nhs/story/0,,661131,00.html

Belgians Given Sub-Standard Care Because of Advanced Age

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070815/EDITORIAL/108150007/1013

Humana Affirms Transplant Integrity -- Answers Dr. Linda Peeno

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/109996&EDATE=