Sicko

[F1shF1ngerz]

I just recently saw the movie Sicko, and to be honest, it made me feel sick that people could be treated so badly and to live in a society where money is valued more then human life. When the movie finished I realised that because I live in Australia there is no way of me knowing if it is like that or it is just Micheal Moore painting the worst possible picture. Does anyone have any inpute to prove or disprove what he says in his documentary?

[Beefynick]

It is Michael Moore and he tends to put things out of focus sometimes, but money is valued more than human life in the American health care system I believe.

Here is one example of things that happen here: you are charged one price for a doctor's visit if you do not have insurance, and if you have insurance they charge a much higher rate to the insurance company, but if you do not have insurance you are pretty much screwed with health care because it is so expensive.

[Jiggz]

I haven't seen the movie, but I do know Michael Mooe's movies. Though he does hilight certain atrocities, at the end of the day he is in the film industry, where sensationalism sells.

Just be very objective to all the points of view and even the facts presented in his movies.

[Android]

Though some of what Moore paints as fact is more subjective rather than objective, a lot of the points he makes are quite valid. The thing I respect Moore for is the fact that he actually tries to speak for the disenfranchised (while gaining publicity for himself). Moore is also not afraid to stand up to corporate America (something the American Government rarely does) and the things they do to the population in the name of "profits."

Is our Health care system fucked up? I work in that industry, and needless to say, yes it is quite messed up. Insurance companies are responsible for a lot of the loop holes, pitfalls, and substandard care in medicine today. They created the fee and bill schedules and barely pay for anything. Health care today is determined more by corporations than by doctors.

[cubeeggs]

I can understand both sides of the issue. On the one hand, these people need money (lots and lots of it), and overpopulation is not good for the planet. On the other hand, people may feel cheapened that some insurance company doesn't think a random person is worth spending lots and lots of money on to do procedures that weren't in the contract and probably won't help anyway. People can't hate the insurance companies for trying to make money. The way it is now, you need an expensive lawyer to read the contracts for you in addition to expensive policies that screw the consumers and the doctors over. If we had a universal heath-care system, the wealthy would be unfairly forced to pay disproportionately for other people's health-care, when they would probably need less (be able to afford healthier food, be more educated, not work in a meat-packing factory). Basically, what's "fair" just depends whose point-of-view you're looking at it from.

[F1shF1ngerz]

Not really. Although you say the rich would pay more then the poor but if you turned it into a ratio of what the poor pay to what they earn I'm sure it would be about the same as what the rich pay in relation to what they recieve.

[llamaface]

I just recently saw the movie Sicko, and to be honest, it made me feel sick that people could be treated so badly and to live in a society where money is valued more then human life. When the movie finished I realised that because I live in Australia there is no way of me knowing if it is like that or it is just Micheal Moore painting the worst possible picture. Does anyone have any inpute to prove or disprove what he says in his documentary?

Although socialized medicine would never in a billion years work in the U.S., we do need to find a better way to help the sick. If you don't have money for medical insurance or medical care, you're pretty much screwed if you get sick or get in an accident. Sure there are "free" hospitals and "free" clinics but you almost always end up paying some kind of price for their services. I only know of one actual free clinic, where you don't pay a cent for anything. Free food too. I work for them. And all the supposed "free clinics" and "free hospitals" that have heard about us end up sending their patients here. The only reason we are completely free is because we don't depend on the government for money. We have volunteer doctors and nurses and other medical personnel. There should be at least five of these clinics in every city.

[Ayla]

I saw that too and as a fellow Aussie i fell into the same boat as you...not really knowing if its as bad as Michael Moore portrays. He's got a habit of twisting information to suit his purposes. But he does raise awareness of certain issues in the younger generations which can only be a good thing. I mean...how many 20 yr olds cared about private health *before* Sicko?

If you are interested in Michael Moore from the other side, try a movie called Manufacturing Dissent. Its a doco on Michael Moore. It utilises a lot of the same tactics that they're bitching MM out for using but its interesting.

Private Health is better is Australia but not by much. It wont be long before we're walking the same road as America i think.

[Audioslave]

It's kind of funny that you're all jittery about his opinion being skewed. Well of course it is, just as the perspective you get in the media is the one they want you to get. Do you complain about that? At least Michael Moore, as bias as he is, talks about things they won't, or rather, can't. Before Sicko, how much talk did you hear in the media about healthcare? Next to none. It was broken before, but nobody wanted to talk about it so as not to draw attention. Now, at least, they're talking about it. You watch the presidential candidates and they are obvious so bias in the opposite direction. I think it was Rudy Guiliani who said "There are many folks in this audience who have been to Canada, and I'm pretty sure they don't want a system like that."

I'll admit, Michael Moore's depection of our healthcare system wasn't 100% accurate. It's not like he got actors to play the patients, and this hospital was actually in some Hollywood backlot. No, in the film the people waited maybe...a half hour. I guess on a good day in a good hospital, that's completely possible. Around here it's a problem because we have a critical doctor shortage (not due to our deplorable healthcare system, they just moved out west, as did half our population.) If I were to go to the emergency room right now, I suspect I'd wait an hour. If it were really busy, and my injury wasn't serious, maybe two or three. If I was having a heart attack; I obviously wouldn't be waiting at all.

My point being is that this film is right. His facts are correct. Maybe the way he presents them are a bit skewed, but they're facts none the less.