In 1996 Dr. Linda Peeno appeared before Congress and exposed the fact that she, working as a medical reviewer for HMO Humana, had denied a $500,000 heart transplant to a man who needed it. She accuses herself of being responsible for his death.
Therapist John Enright used to say that being wrong is like death to the ego. To accuse oneself of having caused the death of another is not a trivial act.
Here, on the occasion of the California Legislature viewing Michael Moore’s Sicko, she testifies on the impact of “condemning a man to death.” She denies Humana’s contention that the story of the denied heart transplant is old and not applicable today.
And here she discusses the impact of appearing in Michael Moore’s film.
She says that her case of denying a heart transplant is really the tip of a huge pyramid of human suffering. There are untold people whose life have been affected by the cruelty of “managed care.” “We have created a culture that has devalued life and devalued our care of patients as well.” “We’re losing the heart and soul of medicine.”
Thanks to Bonnie.