PORTLAND, OR (April 22, 2026). At a time when healthcare systems nationwide face workforce shortages, financial strain, and evolving regulatory pressures, the documentary Suck It Up, Buttercup: Trust & Betrayal – Healthcare in America will screen in Portland on May 31, at 1 p.m. (doors 12:30 p.m.) at the historic PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater.
Portland Screening Details
Hosted by Orchid Health, the event is open to healthcare professionals, executives, policymakers, students, and anyone who is frustrated with the state of healthcare.
The Portland screening will be joined by Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken, whose sharp, often hilarious take on the realities of medicine in the US has built one of the most engaged communities in healthcare. In addition to being featured in the documentary, they will participate in a special Q&A panel following the screening along with Executive Producers Todd R. Otten, MD and MaryAnn Wilbur, MD, MPH, MHS.
A Look at Corporate Pressures in Modern Medicine
The film examines how unchecked corporate greed, driven by private equity takeovers, predatory consolidation, and profit-first reimbursement models, has gutted the U.S. healthcare system from within. Patients pay the highest price. Their voices are sidelined, their care decisions overridden by administrators who have never set foot in an exam room, and their trust in medicine systematically eroded.
Through interviews with frontline physicians, nurses, healthcare leaders, patient advocates, and policy experts, Suck It Up, Buttercup presents perspectives from inside exam rooms and executive offices, exploring how financial priorities and compliance demands intersect with clinical decision-making.
The film amplifies patient voices, people whose care has been denied, delayed, or degraded, ensuring those most affected by corporate greed in healthcare are finally heard.
“This film pulls back the curtain on how the prioritization of profits over people has fractured trust in healthcare,” said Executive Producer Todd R. Otten, MD. “It reveals the human cost of a system where administrators and stakeholders often protect financial interests at the expense of patient care and clinician wellbeing. If you have ever felt that something in healthcare isn’t working the way it should, this film was made for you. Portland is exactly the kind of community that turns that frustration into action.”
“Suck It Up, Buttercup examines the increasing role of bureaucracy and financial incentives in modern medicine,” said Executive Producer MaryAnn Wilbur, MD, MPH, MHS. “It addresses the learned helplessness many clinicians describe and invites a broader discussion about leadership accountability and long-term sustainability in healthcare. We brought it to Portland because this city is full of people, clinicians, patients, advocates, who refuse to accept that this is just how things have to be.”
“What is too often missing from these conversations is the patient,” she adds. “This film insists that the patient voice be heard, not as an afterthought, but as the entire point. That conversation starts here, in Portland, on May 31.”
The Production Team and Featured Voices
Directed by the collaborative team of Amy Schrob, Scott Pressler, John Mottern, MaryAnn Wilbur, and Todd Otten, the documentary features physicians, nurses, healthcare executives, and policy voices discussing operational realities, including documentation burdens, productivity targets, consolidation, and shifting governance structures.
Executive producers Otten and Wilbur lead the producing team, which includes the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, along with John Hunter Mottern, Director of Photography and Producer, Scott Pressler, Creative Director and Producer, and Amy Schrob, Editor and Producer.
Featured participants include Mark Cuban; Wendy Dean, MD; Ashley Chancellor, RN; Dike Drummond, MD; Don Berwick, MD; Tammy Scott, RN; Rebecca Wood; Camille Burnett, PhD; Linda Peeno, MD; Wendell Potter; Matthew Zachary; Leah Carpenter, RN; Tina Shah, MD; Steve Abelowitz, MD; Kemia M. Sarraf, MD, MPH; and Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken.
Ticket and Event Information
For Portland, a city deeply engaged in conversations about healthcare equity, community wellbeing, and the future of medicine, the screening offers an opportunity to engage in dialogue around workforce sustainability, leadership accountability, and the human cost of profit-driven healthcare decisions.
The screening is open to the public and will include a post-film discussion. Tickets and additional information are available on the Tomorrow Theater event page.
About Suck It Up, Buttercup: Trust & Betrayal – Healthcare in America
The documentary explores systemic pressures within the U.S. healthcare system and their impact on patient care, clinician wellbeing, and organizational culture. The film is produced by Buttercup Productions and its executive producing team. The film makes the case that unchecked greed, through private equity, consolidation, and profit-first mandates, has devastated U.S. healthcare, and that restoring it requires centering the patient voice above all else. For more information about the film, visit suckitupbuttercupfilm.com.
