Photo courtesy of Ramapo College
Dr. Murray Sabrin, a professor of finance at Ramapo, has been working on a documentary that focuses on the health care system and the impact it will have on the future of America. The film, called “Medicare/Medicaid: A Fifty Year Retrospective,” is now ready to be screened.
Sabrin, who wrote and produced the film, was joined by Ramapo alumnus Zach Bressler, who served as the videographer for the project. The team was rounded out by Dan Poeschl of Up the Mountain Productions. According to Sabrin, the film takes a critical look at the effectiveness of the health care system.
“This year is a milestone anniversary (50th) of both Medicare and Medicaid,” said Sabrin in an email. “Given the long-term financial challenges both programs face and the potential social and financial impact on the millennial generation, I thought we should review the programs’ effect on our society and have individuals from various perspectives give their solutions to provide high quality healthcare to senior citizens and low income individuals in a financially responsible way.”
In taking a hard look at Medicare and Medicaid, Sabrin hopes viewers will begin to consider substitute health care options.
“I hope audiences begin to think about alternatives to both Medicare and Medicaid and learn about the history of both programs and why they are financially unsustainable,” he said.
The bulk of the film was filmed over the course of three months, from April to June of this year. A final scene was also filmed over the summer in the Adler Center for Nursing Excellence.
“Medicare/Medicaid: A Fifty Year Retrospective” is the third documentary Sabrin has worked on in three years. Two years ago he and his team filmed a documentary about the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve and last year they made a film focusing on income tax. Experts were brought together to give their take on the current tax structure and presented “alternatives to the progressive income tax,” according to Sabrin.
All of these documentaries will soon be found on their YouTube channel, SabrinFilms. Currently the film on income tax is the only documentary that can be viewed on the channel, however Sabrin confirms that the other two will be uploaded soon.
There will be a screening of “Medicare/Medicaid: A Fifty Year Retrospective” in Friends Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. In bringing this documentary to campus, Sabrin hopes to spark a discussion about Medicare and Medicaid in all areas of study, campuswide.
“I hope professors from various disciplines – economics, finance, management, history, political science, social work, sociology, nursing, etc. – use the documentary to have robust discussions in their classes about these two government-created programs,” Sabrin said. “I would be happy to visit classes to get any discussion started, because Medicare/Medicaid will have profound effects on the American people over the next several decades.”
