I just finished watching another documentary by Michael Moore. Sicko.
This one highlights the health care system in the USA compared to that of other nations.
I must admit, Moore does a twist on the way he presents what he wants to say, editing clips to emphasize his point and often to gain sympathy. Usually, he will drive his point home with a one-sided view which will give viewers a wrong impression.

But hey. Guess what? At least what he provided are some facts of the USA health care system which even critics can't deny. Its rather sad to see that the health care in once such a great nation is presently in the hands of insurance companies.

Its a "DUH!" that insurance companies are just like any business, profit-seeking and trying to reduce the possibility of issuing payouts. Which business wish to make a loss? That's the problem in the USA. With the health care system in the hands of insurance companies, you can expect the health care coverage provided to go to shit. It is said that 45 million Americans are insured. But there doesn't seem to be any point in getting yourself insured if insurance companies are trying their best to deny Americans their reimbursement when they get sick or hospitalised. The health care costs in the USA are horribly high, and medication costs are enough to drive people to bankruptcy.

As part of the documentary, Moore showed that a medicine costing US$120 in the USA only cost US$0.05 in Cuba. While I can't confirm that this is true, noone has actually stepped out to refute that claim, so I will accept it as possibly the truth. If it is true, how can prices differ by so much? We are talking about a 2400 times difference in prices here. Does this not highlight the corruptcy in the American health care system? Does this not show that something is actually wrong with the system? In one of the story coverage, Moore interviewed a man who lost one-third of his ring finger and his middle finger in an accident. When he reached the hospital, the doctor told him that it would cost him $60,000 to reattach his middle finger and $12,000 to reattach his ring finger. He could not afford it, so he only could pay to have his ring finger reattached. Where's the ethics in this? Did people become doctors to make profits or to help people? Shouldn't doctors treat anyone regardless of their financial status? In another story, a woman who brought her daughter with a high fever to the nearest hospital was actually denied treatment and was eventually escorted out of the hospital. Reason? The hospital contacted her insurance company and the company said that the baby was not insured in that hospital. Thus, the hospital refused treatment. The baby died on the way to the 'correct' hospital. What the hell?

Can you, living in Singapore, imagine going to the accident and emergency department of a hospital feeling terrible, and refused treatment because they found out you might not be able to afford the treatment? In the USA, some hospitals are known to pack such people into cabs and send them off to somewhere else, half-treated and in bad condition. Not just some old dilapidated hospital. Yes, even reputable ones.

The whole issue circulates around how health issues in the USA have turned into a massive profit-making industry. In my opinion, it is extremely unethical to put profits in front of the welfare of the patients when it comes to health care. After all, every life is precious. Each and every person deserve equal treatment, and the rich certainly should not be given the red carpet.

Some parts of Moore's film deserve questioning though. He compared the health care system in the USA to that of the health care system in the United Kingdom. Moore claimed that the people in the UK do not have to pay a single cent for their health care and their waiting times in the hospitals are extremely short(1 hour in UK compared to 18 hours in the USA). It is true that the UK provide socialised health care to the people at no cost, as the costs are paid for by tax payers. However, UK citizens have income taxes ranging from 10% to 40%. Their 'GST' is as high as 17.5% and companies are taxed 30% of their earnings. That's where all the money is coming from. Moore didn't mention that though. The impression he gives is that the people in the UK seem to enjoy infinite benefit with no detriments. Of course there are. The money must come from somewhere. Another thing is that the 'waiting time' he highlighted is that of the time taken for people to see a doctor. That's actually a minor issue. The UK actually is reportedly to have longer and longer waiting times from the point where the person is examined by a doctor to the point where the person receives treatment. The current waiting times are as long as more than 20 weeks at the moment. That is, if you see a doctor in January, you might only get treated only in June. Of course, this only applies to 'major' illnesses, depending how you define 'major'. They won't wait 5 months to treat your flu. By then, your flu would have gone away and 2 more bouts of flus would probably have passed in the meantime.

There are still many different 'real stories' depicted in the documentary, but going through all of them will turn this into a 5000-word essay. I guess the documentary can speak for itself. Do try to get your hands on the documentary. It opens up a new insight to the 'health care' in America. Of course, if you have watched previous documentaries such as 'Bowling in Columbine' and 'Farenheit 9/11' from Michael Moore, you would expect the same critcism of the Bush administration.

I still think the USA is going to the dumps. As a superpower(or is it still one?), it really sucks. Where else do you find a country which takes care of the rich, shoots each other with absolutely no reason, imbues terror into its people, throw people out of hospitals literally, and still claims that it is a wonderful and developed nation? Oh come on. Face it. The USA is being destroyed by the Bush administration. They spend so many years, so much money, and so many lives invading Iraq with claims of WMDs in Iraq, ignoring the decision by the United Nations forbidding them from attacking Iraq and end up finding nothing. I am so glad that Bush didn't manage to carry on with his presidency. If not, the USA would be gone from the world map before his next term of presidency ends.


By the way, why is it that everyday, we pledge to 'build a democratic society' when Singapore is actually a parliamentary republic. I mean, we are actually far from being a democracy, so isn't this quite ironic? Well, if you realise, we don't really fit the definition of a democratic nation. Ironic, isn't it?


And oh yes, the new song, "I Need To Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge is dedicated to Live Earth Day, which is today. I will blog about Live Earth Day tomorrow. So you all are going to expect 2 long posts. Hah. Don't get too bored reading it. They are issues of concerns and are actually very interesting topics. Global issues, yes. If we all play a small part, we can change the world. Don't you think so?

Labels: movie/documentary, special articles