SiCKO's Impact

From Day One, the registered nurses of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee have been proud to have worked with Michael on this fight.

We hosted the first premiere screening in the US. We sent a Nurse honor guard to the other premieres. We marched with Michael and the stars of the movie in Sacramento and DC. We appeared on Wall Street and called for socially responsible divestment from the health care companies. And last week we organized events with Nurses in 46 markets all across the country to coincide with the opening. To us, this is a movement for fundamental reform plain and simple with guaranteed healthcare for all – that ends the disgrace of insurance company denial of care.

No one knows the true state of America's health care system better than the Nurses. "SiCKO" brings to life the experience American’s RNs live every day. Our patients and our communities need real, systemic reform, not incremental change, not tinkering. The foundation is flawed - and we need to fix it at the most basic level.

When Michael shared with us the Capitol Blue Cross internal memo - we recognized the momentum "SiCKO" has helped ignite and the growing power of our movement. The insurance industry is afraid. The game is up for them.

It is time for all of us to write our own memo to these insurance companies - and the memo should have two words: YOU'RE FIRED.

We look forward to this debate – and we hope that Blue Cross will stand up to this challenge. They have a lot of explaining to do about their policies and practices that have inflicted so much pain and suffering on so many people. The American people deserve better, and soon we will have it.

Deborah Burger, RN
President, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee