Several groups are mobilizing to counteract a movie that few have seen yet. The Cato Institute, for example, is hosting a breakfast symposium tomorrow on Capitol Hill to show clips from SiCKO and other films about health care to 170 people. So many responded that the think tank had to change venues three times. “It’s a nice problem to have,” Cato’s Michael Cannon tells The New York Sun. Well, there is free food, Mike.

The Manhattan Institute has blitzed journalists with a list of ‘experts’ available to discuss SiCKO and health care issues. And yesterday, the advocacy group Health Care America held a conference call that drew nearly 20 reporters from around the country, including correspondents from the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, the paper reports.

“It definitely has to be rebutted,” says Sally Pipes, director of the Pacific Research Institute. According to SourceWatch, a left-leaning group that tracks public policy groups, several organizations responding to “Sicko” receive funding from drugmakers, including the Manhattan Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Pacific Research Institute. So does Health Care America.

The president of the Galen Institute, Grace-Marie Turner, who spoke during the Health Care America conference call, says “I don’t know how good he is a filmmaker, but he certainly is a master of hype.”

Yes, and he was counting on your reaction. It’s remarkable, isn’t it? Perhaps these groups can use some industry funding to finance another documentary about the US health care system. They could call it ‘Healthyman,’ and it would follow a well-paid executive with fully funded health care benefits that are stipulated in a long-term contract. Perhaps someone who runs a drugmaker? Then maybe we can finally have some balance.