Linda Peeno
Encyclopedia
Linda Peeno is a physician, ethicist and lecturer from Louisville, Kentucky
known for being a whistleblower
for the United States
managed healthcare industry.
Following employment as a medical reviewer for Humana
and medical director at Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Plans
, she became a critic of how U.S. HMOs
drive profits through denial of care.
On May 30, 1996, Peeno testified before Congress
as to the downside of managed care.
In the 2002 Showtime docudrama
Damaged Care, Laura Dern
portrayed Peeno as she transitioned from health care industry employee to whistleblower. In 2007, Peeno was prominently featured in the Michael Moore
movie Sicko
, which included portions of her May 1996 appearance before Congress.
On June 28, 2007, in a statement about Sicko, Humana declared that Peeno was never a Humana "associate" (permanent, full-time employee), but rather a "part-time contractor". Humana also disputed the portions of Congressional testimony that were shown by saying that because the patient's specific healthcare plan didn't cover heart transplants, the denial of coverage was valid.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
known for being a whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
managed healthcare industry.
Following employment as a medical reviewer for Humana
Humana
Humana Inc. , founded in 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base of over 11.5 million in the United States, the company is the largest Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and has a...
and medical director at Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Plans
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 39 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 100 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of...
, she became a critic of how U.S. HMOs
Health maintenance organization
A health maintenance organization is an organization that provides managed care for health insurance contracts in the United States as a liaison with health care providers...
drive profits through denial of care.
On May 30, 1996, Peeno testified before Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
as to the downside of managed care.
In the 2002 Showtime docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
Damaged Care, Laura Dern
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
portrayed Peeno as she transitioned from health care industry employee to whistleblower. In 2007, Peeno was prominently featured in the Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
movie Sicko
Sicko
Sicko is a 2007 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates health care in the United States, focusing on its health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The movie compares the for-profit, non-universal U.S...
, which included portions of her May 1996 appearance before Congress.
On June 28, 2007, in a statement about Sicko, Humana declared that Peeno was never a Humana "associate" (permanent, full-time employee), but rather a "part-time contractor". Humana also disputed the portions of Congressional testimony that were shown by saying that because the patient's specific healthcare plan didn't cover heart transplants, the denial of coverage was valid.
External links
- Toward a Healthier World - Linda Peeno's website
- Democracy Now! - HMO Whistleblower Dr. Linda Peeno on the Subordination of Healthcare to a For-Profit System — June 21, 2007
- Damaged Care in the New York Times Movie Guide
- British Columbia Nurses Union - Damaged Care - Linda Peeno, American whistle-blower doctor warns B.C. of private health care