Filmmakers Hope To Spark National Dialogue On Solutions That Bring Runaway Costs In Line With Overall Economic Growth

Easton, PA — Seven years after they teamed up to produce “Fix-It: Healthcare At The Tipping Point,” an examination of the skyrocketing costs of healthcare in the United States, Lehigh Valley businessman Richard Master and filmmaker Vincent Mondillo have come together again for a new production that takes a provocative look at how American hospitals created regional monopolies in healthcare while accumulating billions in liquid reserves.

“American Hospitals: Healing A Broken System” is based on several years of in-depth research and interviews with patients, physicians, nurses and nationally recognized experts in hospital administration, healthcare economics and policy, all impacted by the consolidation of hospitals and professionals into massive region-wide health systems across the country .

The film also presents solutions to bring runaway hospital costs in line with overall economic growth. It examines the path that one state has taken to change the economic incentives motivating  hospital strategies and looks at how hospitals and government can work together to lower cost, improve quality and provide equitable treatment to all when they cooperate.

“Hospitals  have become increasingly commercialized over the last 50 year. Non-profit  hospitals now generate substantial revenue and bottom line returns which they characterize as “earned excess” rather than profit,” said Master, CEO of MCS Industries Inc. in Palmer Township and founder of the Unfinished Business Foundation, a non-profit business organization created to examine the impacts of untenable healthcare costs.

Of the $4.5 trillion Americans will spend on health care this year, hospitals will grab by far the biggest share. Hospitals are a driving force that makes the average cost of a family health insurance policy exceed $22,000, plus thousands in out-of-pocket expenses for deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance.

“When accumulated in liquid reserve accounts these earnings bring immense power and influence to bear on the local communities these hospitals are chartered to serve,” Master continued, noting that many non-profit hospitals were formed by philanthropists and religious orders to bring affordable care to their communities.  “The question is whether this accumulation of wealth is really in the public’s interest. Shouldn’t the accumulation of community funds and their distribution be a matter of public oversight?”

Filmmaker Mondillo said the goal of the film is not to create an antagonistic relationship with America’s hospital systems, but to inspire a public dialogue that will find solutions to the spiraling costs of healthcare that arose as hospitals banded together to improve their negotiations with insurance providers.

“We really have three goals here,” Master said. “First, we need to raise public awareness of how these mergers have led to increasingly complex pricing structures that are virtually impossible for the average patient or layman to understand. Second is to explore solutions that have been proven to work in other states and around the world. And the third is to stimulate a discussion between the consumers, healthcare providers and hospital executives about these issues and solutions.”

“American Hospitals” is the fourth in a series of documentaries produced by Mondillo and Master., who took a deep dive into the economics of the U.S. health-care system after his company was hit year after year with double-digit health insurance rate increases. He saw the financial distress of his employees, even when insured. His decision as a businessman to make a series of films about this urgent topic and to raise public awareness stands unique in the American business landscape.

The previous films were “Fix It: Healthcare At The Tipping Point;” “Big Pharma: Market Failure;” and “Big Money Agenda: Democracy on the Brink.”

Joining Master and Mondillo as Associate Producer for this film is former health-care executive Wendell Potter, who left his 20-year-career in the health insurance industry after a crisis of conscience. A New York Times best selling author, he has testified before numerous Congressional and state legislative committees and leads the Center for Health and Democracy that advocates for health care reform that advocate for health-care reform.

All four films have been edited and sound designed by Emmy award winning filmmaker Henry Nevison who has made numerous documentaries for the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, and PBS.

A Lehigh Valley presentation of “American Hospitals: Healing A Broken System”is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. April 24 at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema at ArtsQuest, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. 

The debut will be followed by a reception and short question-and-answer session with the filmmakers and other experts..

The film premiered at E Street Cinema in Washington, D.C. on March 29  and will subsequently open nationwide in over twenty cities, via the theatrical distributor 8 Above, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles, followed by community screenings starting May 1. View the trailer here.

Information provided to TVL by:
Joseph McDermott