Finally we got around to watching Michael Moore's film on the health care questions the United States is facing. Sicko starts out hard to watch (no, not because of Moore); but if you rent it from Netflix, give it some time.
The first part is about people who have faced catastrophic health problems due to not being able to afford insurance, having it and finding their company found a cancellation loophole (something they apparently are good at finding), or having it and finding co-pays for a major illness still sent them into bankruptcy and the homeless category.
Does it sound tough to watch a man being told by the hospital that they can reattach one of two fingers (which he lost in an accident with his saw) and he can decide which one based on the cost of $12,000 for one or $60,000 for the other? He chose the cheaper one.
The next part explains how we got here. It runs tapes of Halderman and Nixon chuckling over his approval of the HMO bill if it was aimed at not really covering much. It showed how the insurance companies operate with trying to get doctors to do less than might be wise but that saves them money.
It doesn't go back to the early part of the 20th century when one president after another tried to get universal health care and failed under the same forces that are blocking it today. It did go into the cost we are paying for what we have let go on too long. It is escalating.
Finally Moore visited Canada, England, France, and yes, Cuba to see how it's done there for ordinary people who get sick. Not only do the people there not have to economically fear illness, but the doctors are freed to do what is best for their patients, not what the insurance company is forcing upon them. The doctors still make good salaries even in England where they are paid by the government.
It is enough to make you sick if you come from the United States and see what we here are doing to our sick and in the name of... uh exactly what was it in the name of? Oh yes, fear of socialism which we evidently tolerate with firemen and policemen but are trying to undo with public education. It also is to keep the stock market looking good for those of us who have investments there-- but at what price?
I really wonder how some people live with themselves. I have no answer to it. The irony is it's not just the rich who don't want to see health care become affordable for all. Many middle class people, who could someday find themselves under the gun, they have also been taught to fear so well that they turn against what is in their own interest.
He asked people in countries with universal coverage how they felt about paying higher taxes for this. They said they saw themselves as all connected and felt the need to help each other. Wow, and we call ourselves the Christian nation? On what evidence?
Anyway I very much recommend that everyone see Sicko especially if you don't favor health care reform. You at least should look at who you are hurting by your stand. If you think you can escape responsibility by not looking, you can't. It's being done in your name.
Also check out this excellent column from Nicholas Kristof-- Uninsure Congress. I really liked his suggestion and it'd do a lot to change the view in Congress if they faced what so many other Americans do. This is not a Republican versus Democratic issue as a lot of the Democrats talk a good game but then let this be blocked again and again because of the money they make as it stands. Or they enable 'reform' that only makes money for the insurance companies and still doesn't give people the best care possible.
I know a lot of people don't like Michael Moore, but he did a very good job on this film. It is humorous at times and always informative as he explores the questions and personalizes what is happening right now. It's something all Americans should be thinking about.
9 comments:
This film "Sicko" is on my must see list.
I should hope that the improvement in the stock market will eventually come down to improving the job market. In my little town the building boom continues. Our raod has been pulverized and then rebuilt. A new restaurant has opened. A new doctor has come to town. This is very good in Oregon.
I agree with all you say here, rain.
Interesting. While there may be some good information in this film, I do not trust Michael Moore to put out the truth any more than I do World Net Daily. He is not a documentary film maker. He uses footage edited to make people say things that they really did not say. If Cuba has such a wonderful system then why does the US have to send them emergency supplies of anti-biotics for simple infections because they do not have enough to treat their own people.
I believe we need reform of our system, but as it is going Obama just wants to sign a bill, any bill, and usually when something like that happens we end up with a worse situation than before Congress got involved.
I have concerns about what they will do. Olympia Snowe expressed my own concerns. It has to be made more affordable and that won't be easy with an industry demanding 31% for overhead. As for the antibiotics, my guess is the embargo is a factor in that. They were not the main place he spent time though. It was in England, Canada and France. The things he said and the stories of Americans here are all out there other places. It's too bad right wingers don't see it; so they can be specific as to where they disagree.
I saw this film when it first came out and I like Michael Moore, but I thought it got too outrageous toward the end. Have you seen Capitalism: The Love Story? I'll wait until it goes to DVD.
Did it seem outrageous because he took 9/11 NYC survivors to Cuba to get the health care our country had denied them? *s* That was the most controversial aspect that some people didn't like but I have never heard it wasn't true. Something is wrong in this country when you are told you can't get health care without showing you can afford the 20% co-pay.
I hadn't seen much of Moore since he offended me with his interview with Charlton Heston which I felt he went way off base with an old man who was dignified and didn't deserve what he was handed.
I haven't decided yet about Capitalism as I don't agree with Moore that the problem is capitalism. I think it's our version of it that has gone haywire. Capitalism, maybe not pure, but generally speaking could work but we don't remotely have that. We have a protect the big business version that doesn't let people fail if they are powerful enough. Just wrong.
I saw Sicko when it first came out and am amazed that it didn't have more impact on people. I guess the people who really need to see it listened to Rush and his copy cats and refused to become educated. Ignorance rules!
I have not yet watched "Sicko" although I think that I should and will. Another interesting & informative film is "Who Killed The Electric Car?" and it is not a Michael Moore film.
I agree with Rain that the form of capitalism we now have in this country is too heavily slanted to favor the large corporations.
I watched who killed the electric car. It was very interesting, but definitely had a certain political slant. I guess there are two sides to every story.
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