More than two weeks ago I downloaded and watched Michael Moore’s new documentary Sicko. Yes, I download movies and fortunately Moore has given people his blessing to do so with this documentary given the urgency of the topic it address. Even if you are not a big fan of his previous repertoire of liberally slanted films, take a deep breath and take the plunge. You will be glad you did. This documentary does go beyond party lines. Healthcare is not a partisan issue. Sickness does not care if you are liberal, conservative, black, white, in shape or morbidly lazy.
The documentary boils down to one question. Why do we allow companies motivated by profit to make decisions about our health? This simple question has deeper social implications. We pay taxes to operate social services not for profit, but because they serve community for a benefit on the whole. The fire department, police department, and education system are socialized constructs that currently exist in our society to operate on this principal. Would including health care not also serve society at large? Canada, England, France, and a number of other countries have been able to grasp this concept with great success. Yet the private and public sectors of health care in these countries coexist with each other.
Moore takes his cameras across the borders in search of a better way of doing things. In England patients furled their brows when asked how they were going to pay for their medical expenses. The concept was absolutely foreign to them. Moore repeats the process in France and Canada with the same results. By far the most touching section of the film is Moore’s trip to Cuba. This move has landed Moore in hot water with the US government given the long standing (and impotent) trade embargo still in effect.
The surprising thing to remember is that this movie is not about those who do not have insurance, but those who do. The unfortunate Americans in the movie all came from middle-class backgrounds and believed themselves to be covered for the worse. It was chilling to hear some of their stories. Should the first question we ask en route to care not be “How do I get better?” It would be a welcome change to the standard “How do I pay for this?” Go see the film out in theaters now… or download it. It is worth your time.