Why is healthcare so expensive? "This Won't Hurt a Bit" is a short film that tells the all too familiar tale of American healthcare. A patient enters a hospital with a migraine headache, unaware of the costs his visit will incur on the path to a diagnosis. He learns much more than he bargained for in this comedy on unaffordable care.
Directed by Mary Harron
Starring:
The Intern: Kerry Bishe
The Patient: Will Janowitz
The Experienced Nurse: Laura Ceron
The Diagnostician: Peter Jacobson
The MRI Doctor: Isaiah Washington
The Technician: Cynthia Kaplan
The Wise Doctor: Bob Balaban
The Cashier: Nancy Giles
Ms. Insurance: Maddie Corman
Mr. Pharmaceutical: Adam Goldberg
The Therapist: Lili Taylor
A Greencard Production
Producers: Petra Ahmann & Mary Harron
Writers: Mary Harron and Cynthia Kaplan
Director of Photography: Mott Hupfel
Editor: Todd Thoenig
Music Composer: Louis Schwadron
Production Designer: Jill Nichols
Costume Designer: Abby Walton
Casting: Barden / Schnee
Executive Producer: Emily Wiedemann
Associate Producer: Tony Borden
Researcher: Kelsey Eichhorn
Production Supervisor: Kaitlin Del Campo
1st Assistant Director: Marc Kelly
2nd Assistant Director: Chan Booth
Key Grip: Patrick Timothy Doherty
Best Boy Grip: Joe Wanamaker
Gaffer: TJ Alston
Best Boy Electric: Keagan Fuller
Electric: Andrew Gritzke
1st Assistant Camera: Dan Hersey
2nd Assistant Camera: Brett Von Egman
Camera Intern: Kevin Arota
Script Supervisor: Sasha Vitelli
Sound Recordist: Peter Dodenhoff
Wardrobe Supervisor: Arabella Fischer
Set Tailor: Erika Kuehn
Makeup Artists: Sarah Hindsgaul
Additional Makeup: Etzel Edeson
Makeup Assistant: Emma Strachman
Art Director: Whitney Hellesen
Prop Master: Graham Hamilton
Production Coordinator: Tatiana Bears
Production Accountant: Vince Gonzalez
Talent Production Assistant: Yesenia - Moony Perez
Key Production Assistant: Eric Chiraboga
Production Assistants: Brandon Regina, Alex Romanski and Ryan Duffy
Craft Services: Rachel Salerno
MARY HARRON studied English literature at Oxford and worked as a journalist and documentary filmmaker before making her first feature film, “I Shot Andy Warhol.” She also wrote and directed the films, “American Psycho,” “The Notorious Bettie Page,” and “The Moth Diaries.” For television, Mary has directed episodes of television series including “Oz,” “The L Word,” “Six Feet Under,” “Six Degrees” and “Big Love” and recently directed the Lifetime movie “Anna Nicole.” She is currently working on a film about the last years of Salvador Dali.
Director's Note
“When researching the subject of U.S. healthcare, I came across a story about a young man who arrived at the emergency room with a headache and left with a $15,000 bill. I asked writer/comedienne Cynthia Kaplan to help me write a little drama about a patient who gets lost in the funhouse of American healthcare. It would be set in a mythical hospital where all the staff have played doctors and nurses on television.
Kerry Bishe (Scrubs), Peter Jacobson (House), Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy), Laura Ceron (ER) and Nancy Giles (China Beach, CBS Saturday Morning) agreed to put on the scrubs once more. Lili Taylor (State of Mind) reprised her role as a therapist to try and mediate between the squabbling Ms. Insurance (Maddy Corman) and Mr. Pharmaceutical (Adam Goldberg) and the hapless patient (Will Janowitz). Finally, the inimitable Bob Balaban, came in to tell us some of the history of how this system came to be.
Before I started this project I knew U.S. healthcare was expensive, I knew it was infuriatingly complicated, but I had no idea why. Healthcare was something that deeply affected my life and my family, but I knew almost nothing about it. That’s what I love about WE THE ECONOMY - it makes you stop and look and think and then look again at something so familiar, until you realize that you’ve never really seen it before.”
Quiz
The government-provided healthcare program for the elderly is known as:
19%Medicaid
6%Affordable Care
71%Medicare
3%Blue Cross-Blue Shield
71% of respondents chose the correct answer:
Medicare.
Medicare is our country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older. The
program helps with the cost of healthcare, but it does not cover all medical expenses, nor the cost of most
long-term care. Medicare has been administered by the federal government since 1966.
When a third-party insurance company pays medical providers instead of consumers paying directly:
36%Consumer demand for healthcare rises
8%The supply of healthcare falls
45%Out-of-pocket costs to the consumer go up
11%Consumers more clearly understand the true cost of healthcare
36% of respondents chose the correct answer: Consumer demand for
healthcare rises.
When third-party insurance companies pay for medical expenses, the cost to the
patient decreases, allowing them to afford additional healthcare.
Healthcare spending is a growing share of our economy because:
74%All of these
8%Healthcare technology is always improving, and the latest technology is expensive
7%When faced with a loved one’s need for healthcare, money is typically “no object” (demand is
high)
11%Our population is aging, and older people tend to have greater and more expensive health
needs
74% of respondents chose the correct answer: All of
these.
Total healthcare spending in the U.S. is expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from
$2.6 trillion in 2010 and $75 billion in 1970. To put it in context, this means that healthcare spending will
account for nearly 20% of gross domestic product (GDP), or 1/5 of the U.S. economy, by 2021.
Twitter
You know what would make you feel more secure about Ebola and other dangerous medical concerns? Universal public healthcare. Time to grow up
@soulkhan
Anyone else get bombarded with spam emails from private healthcare firms at the mo? I get at least 5 a week.
