Name: Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2012
Duration: 1 min 39 s

Brief Synopsis

Cast & Crew

Film Details

Genre

Documentary

Release Date

2012

Distribution Company

Roadside Attractions

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 39m

Synopsis

American healthcare costs are rising so rapidly that they could reach $4.2 trillion annually, roughly 20% of our gross domestic product, within ten years. We spend $300 billion a year on pharmaceutical drugs - almost as much as the rest of the world combined. We pay more, yet our health outcomes are worse. About 65% of Americans are overweight, and almost 75% of healthcare spending goes to preventable diseases that are the major causes of disability and death in our society. It's not surprising that healthcare is at the top of many Americans' concerns and at the center of an intense political debate in our nation's capitol. The current battle over cost and access, however, does not ultimately address the root of the problem: we have a disease-care system, not a healthcare system. The film examines the powerful forces maintaining the status quo, a medical industry designed for quick fixes rather than prevention, for profit-driven care rather than patient-driven care.