Ok, ok, ok. Stop laughing. I'm serious - stop laughing. Because this isn't Justin Bieber making fun of our propensity to eat at Wendy's or demand extra refills at TGIFriday's. He's making a damn good statement about the -- very much so -- "evil" nature of private, big-profit health insurance in the United States.
Justin says in a recent Rolling Stone interview:
The Canadian-born Bieber never plans on becoming an American citizen. "You guys are evil," he jokes. "Canada's the best country in the world." He adds, "We go to the doctor and we don't need to worry about paying him, but here, your whole life, you're broke because of medical bills. My bodyguard's baby was premature, and now he has to pay for it. In Canada, if your baby's premature, he stays in the hospital as long as he needs to, and then you go home."
Watch out Aetna, CIGNA and WellPoint, you've got Justin Bieber fighting against you now!
It is perfectly evil for a big-profit insurance CEO like Aetna's ex-CEO Ron "I'm Selling My Stock While It's Highest" Williams to make money off of the fact that individuals suffer horrible, horrible diseases, injuries and medical episodes in their lives.
While I know Glenn Beck and Bill 'O will disagree, I think it is outstanding to have celebrities speak out against the evils of our health insurance system.
Will Ferrell did some good work during the health care reform battle:
The reality is that if we are ever to engage in the necessary, civil rights movement, Egypt-style fight we need for single-payer care in this country, we'll need the support of influential leaders in all sectors -- including entertainment.
And, you know what, even if you disagree with Bieber calling America "evil," you can't disagree with his analysis of our big-profit health insurance system.
I just finished Wendell Potter's " Deadly Spin" (READ IT!) and am more convinced than ever that Justin is absolutely correct: Aetna, CIGNA, WellPoint, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and all the other big-profit crooks are truly evil institutions.