Michael Moore's movie sicko. American views on this?

Question

Firstly, I am NOT a Michael Moore fan at all. He's irritating and cannot see more than one point of view at any one time.

However, I just watched "Sicko" in full and being a British citizen, I am all for national health-care.

I have read a lot that many people - a majority being from the US - think that it is inaccurate (total bull according to some) but as a recipient of NHS treatment throughout my life, I found the interviewing and views of the NHS in the film were very accurate. I mean, doctors DO get paid a lot. There is NO billing department in UK hospitals. Pre and post natal care is not charged for. Waiting times in Emergency rooms aren't that long (Okay, I'll admit, 2am on a weekend with all the drunks in large towns increases waiting times in ER's but if you have a serious injury, you are at the front of the queue) and medications ARE £6.65 if you are eligable to pay. And are completely FREE to those of low incomes, the elderley and minors. The fat, irritating Mr Moore wasn't using film trickery or artistic license there.

There can be long waits for things like certain operations but we DO have the option to us to go private if we want to be seen quicker. And if it is a serious enough condition - heart bypass for example - there is no waiting. Also, the NHS does not provide vital liver transplants to alcoholics who have drunk through one liver already (unless they give up drinking and can prove it) so we're not stupid, wasting resources on those who would abuse the system.

So, does this mean that the American views were fake? Was a little 18 month old girl really allowed die because her mother's insurance was not going to cover treatment at a certain hospital? And a couple were forced to go bankrupt due to suffering from cancer and a heart attack? I find it hard to believe, especially as most Americans I have heard giving their views on it call the movie total rubbish.

So, by reasoning, the American "side of it" according to Michael Moore must have been faked, or at least embellished?

Answer 1

No, I don't think Moore faked anything. Rather, his view was one-sided, as it always is, sometimes to the point where it becomes distortion. He fails for example to note that Cuba has two classes of medical system, one for the public and another for the leadership, and that while medical care is universally available and top-notch by third world standards even commonplace medications are hard to come by.



But he's right that the lack of universal health care here is killing people, and bankrupting them. And most Americans know that, which is why Obama's health care initiative has so much public support (65% favor a public option). But the health care lobby is extremely powerful, they've spent *$300 million* in only six months to fight health reform.



Also, what you have to realize is that *most* Americans don't have these problems. The vast majority of Americans have health insurance and are happy with it. And they get better care than they would in the UK, none of those infamous waits and penny-pinching. The problems Moore mentions -- being uninsured and having shoddy insurance plans that drop you -- are real, but they affect only a minority, typically the working poor who make a bit too much for free government health care and those who lose their job or work for a small employer. For most middle class Americans, universal coverage won't give them coverage other than what they already have (though it will make that safer), and it will mean that their costs will go up, rather than down.



So while like most Americans I'm strongly in favor of health care reform, and disappointed that lobbyists and conservatives have so far blocked it, you have to keep in mind that most of us aren't dying on the street as Moore's film might suggest. It's a very good film, but it's no more balanced than his other ones and you kind of have to have some familiarity with the American health system to put it in context.

Answer 2

Sadly, that does happen in the US. Many people here are against nationalized health care, but I am not one of them. They are misinformed by people like Rush Limbaugh who want to preserve the antiquated sluggish systems that the country was founded on (back when the population was what 10,000?). These are some of my personal experiences dealing with the US healthcare system:

A friend of mine was injured at his job and needed a knee replacement. The PRIVATE insurance company approved one part of the surgey, but not the other part (apparently it is a two step procedure). He is still waiting (8 months later) and can barely walk.

My father developed diverticulosis just after losing his insurance at work. His emergency room bill was $8,000. He is having to make payments on it.

My brother in law was in a serious car accident and had head trauma. The hospital sent him a bill for $500,000. He had to file bankruptcy.



So yes this does happen in the US, but hopefully soon we will be voting on healthcare reform and maybe it won't happen as often.

Answer 3

I just watched that movie too. I'm from America and I can tell you that if you don't have insurance you're in big trouble. I believe what he said is absolutely true. After watching that I wish we had the same system as Canada, England or France. People lose everything over here if your insurance won't cover a procedure. It's annoying to have to have a procedure done and you have to wait and see if your insurance company will cover it. If they won't you have to pay out of your own pocket. People lose everything when they have to pay for a procedure themselves. A lot of people can't even afford to get health insurance. I think this system we have here is totally messed up.

Answer 4

The movie is stupid and he is an idiot...just goes to show you theyll let anyone make a movie.