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Submitted by RonAkanowicz on July 18, 2007 - 9:13am.
In the debate over politics and healthcare there is, of course, no perfect solution. What sounds air-tight in theory quickly springs leaks in the world we live in- a world that's run by human beings who each have their own agendas, preferences, and needs. It's basic economics.
Last night I saw the new Michael Moore movie, "SiCKO." I've seen his other movies, and while each of them deals with various topics the thread that really run through all of them, as well as this one, is the theme of people (a democracy) who are being systematically mistreated because of an economic and political model that is easily corrupted when money meets government. For those conservative folk this isn't "Fahrenheit 911" - it's not a Bush-bashing. But what it does make clear is that we have a political system that is perpetuating a healthcare system that is failing.
"SiCKO," does a great job of illustrating the problems with our current healthcare system. Through interviews with patients, doctors, and people who've worked within the system itself the movies paints a really absurd picture of what we here in America call managed care. We hear politicians praise this system when in fact we consistently rank poorly across a wide spectrum of measurements as compared to the rest of the developed world. Do a Google search on things like "infant mortality rates," "life expectancy," and "healthcare costs by country," and you'll quickly find a lot of corroborating evidence.
During the movie I was moved to tears; I was enraged; horrified; disappointed; surprised; and mostly disheartened. To say that politicians aren't influenced by money, lobbyists, big-business, or those with the loudest voice is to expose a naivety that neither serves our democracy nor strengthens it.
Today I've been in a melancholy mood- on one hand I feel like I want to flee, move to Canada. On the other hand I realize that as a citizen of this country, as troubled and plagued as it might be, that I really need to _do_ something. Apparently it's starting with this email. Perhaps tomorrow it'll channel into some other way of making a difference. If not, at least I've encouraged you to see this movie and make your own decision about the state of our healthcare system. Then together we can take to the streets.
Additional Information:
See the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlDAUKSh9CQ
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What a downer! Seriously, practically ruined my evening. I think Michael Moore's strength is in being able to refocus our attention on the things we already know to be true but choose, or attempt, to ignore. I don't mean ignore in perhaps the "worst" sense of the word, but as a coping mechanism, it is pretty hard to pay close attention and remain present to the horrible state of health care and health insurance in our nation.
I came out of the move wanting nothing more than for someone to offer me role in fixing this debacle. And as I think more about the flaws in our health care system, I become completely overwhelmed and confused.
This all in the shadow of president Bush's pronouncement that he will veto an increase is S-CHIP funding (for uninsured children) because it represents a “beginning salvo” in establishing a government-run health care system. (As reported in the NYTimes today.)
I feel like we need a completely non partisan, non political, expert driven summit on the problems in the health care/insurance industry. My guess is that we would discover that many of our problems lie in the disconnect between provider and patient created by insurance company bureaucracy and also the American notion that everyone, regardless of age and overall health should get the same kind of care. We ignore the preventative care that young people need to stay health and then seem to go overboard trying to keep people who are at death's door alive (we have to admit that humans die. As unpleasant as that is to face, we all know it to be true. There is no fountain of youth, and certainly the expensive pills peddled by Big Pharma to keep humans alive longer do not always insure quality of life.
The other thing I wondered when I came out of the film, is why none of the Doctor dramas on TV ever seem to deal with the issues of insurance. Also why do doctors participate in this completely messed up system. If Doctors took a collective stand against the insurance companies, would we be able to see a real change?
Several weeks ago, my son fell out of a tree at his day camp. We took him to the hospital to get checked out. He had a couple of tests and we checked out the next morning. He was fine. The bill just came - it totaled $9,524.52.
No wonder our insurance bill is so hi each month. And to think with the same amount of money that we could have freed 300 slaves in many parts of the world.
What's wrong here? How can this make sense?