Linda Peeno is an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, ethicist, and lecturer known for being a

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

against the American managed healthcare industry.

Whistleblowing

Following employment as a medical reviewer for

Humana Humana Inc. is a for-profit American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2021, the company ranked 41 on the Fortune 500 list, which made it the highest ranked (by revenues) company based in Kentucky. It has been the thir ...

and medical director at Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Plans, she became a critic of how U.S.

HMOs In integrated circuits, depletion-load NMOS is a form of digital logic family that uses only a single power supply voltage, unlike earlier NMOS (n-type metal-oxide semiconductor) logic families that needed more than one different power supply ...

drive profits through denial of care. On May 30, 1996, Peeno testified before

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as to the downside of managed care.

Media representation and controversy

In the 2002

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

docudrama '' Damaged Care'',

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and a ...

portrayed Peeno as she transitioned from health care industry employee to whistleblower. In 2007, Peeno was prominently featured in the Michael Moore movie ''

Sicko ''Sicko'' is a 2007 American political documentary film by filmmaker Michael Moore. Investigating health care in the United States, it focuses on the country's health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The film compares the for-profit no ...

'', 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.

References

External links

Toward a Healthier World - Linda Peeno's websiteDemocracy Now! - HMO Whistleblower Dr. Linda Peeno on the Subordination of Healthcare to a For-Profit System
— June 21, 2007

* ttp://www.workingtv.com/damagedcare.html British Columbia Nurses Union - Damaged Care - Linda Peeno, American whistle-blower doctor warns B.C. of private health care American whistleblowers Managed care Medical controversies in the United States Physicians from Louisville, Kentucky Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Kentucky women health professionals American women physicians 21st-century American women {{US-physician-stub