In 2007, Michael Moore, the underdog filmmaker known for making satirical films in criticism of the corporate, public and political landscapes of the US, made yet another sobering film on the healthcare system in the US. Which, at present time, is what President Obama is trying to overhaul. His critics slam new health policies for socialising America and socialising medicine in the US healthcare landscape.
At various times in these two years, we have watched Michael Moore's "SiCKO" and for one, we cannot deny that the documentary is powerful and well... we are convinced. Convinced by the reality that 50 million Americans are grossly underinsured or uninsured.
That's because the healthcare system in the US has been monopolised by the private sector of hospitals, pharmaceuticals and health insurance companies. There is no basic health risk coverage for these so many Americans, we don't need to talk about quality of care.
And this has gotten to a point in which the doctors of a hospital won't operate on an urgent, life-and-death case unless the patient's insurance is under the purview of the hospital or that he/she can well afford it. The hospitals have the right to reject those in need, out of business reasons.
We thought what a DYSTOPIC vision this is of a healthcare system of any developed country. When we saw the wreck brought about Hurricane Kathrina, we thought to ourselves, "Is this really the US of A?". When we saw exact footage on this film of how an elderly patient was literally dumped by the hospital, we were aghast and the same question surfaced: "Is this really America?"
Here are a few guys without conscience, who helped precipitated a deficient and unevenly spread healthcare landscape of the US:
Here's President George W. Bush
See the price tag pointed to him? That's what he's paid by health insurance companies for passing the bill to let them take the reins of America's healthcare system
Here's the entire Congress, many of whom were bought over at a price
The CEO of a health insurance company who repeatedly stamped his signature on denial letters that denied payouts given to claims made by policyholders and oh, he said he wasn't aware that many of the denials were fraudulently administered. Because...?
the denial letters were similar.
Pictures of screenshots taken from the video we rented from VideoEzy.
Now this is dystopic, but remember our 2nd post on similarities between S'pore's and US healthcare systems? We are not saying authorities in the Republic are like those portrayed in the film, but are there not people here in glorious Singapore who do not go treat their wounds at hospitals because they lack the money or are not covered by their health insurance policies? Are there not marginal(ized) people who can't afford hefty sums of surgery payment to treat their cancers and tumours and are left to pass, probably in support of the Advanced Medical Directive?
Do we not have many people writing to forums who express displeasure of being denied payouts of their claims, of insurance agents who elude customers at the time claims are filed, of inconsistencies expressed over policy contracts?
In our regulated media environment, a Singapore SiCKO would be otherwise banned and the filmmaker probably taken to court and sued to his pants, but say, if there is a Singaporean M. Moore who can give voice to those we have mentioned above and express their sentiments in an open, satirical way, we would be happy to see such craft of intelligent representation.
This is Part #1 of 3 of our posts on "SiCKO & Singapore". Look forward to hearing from you.
14 comments:
许多单房式组屋的老人缺资金看病 他们最需帮助 可以去TIONG BAHRU、TANJONG PAGAR、JALAN BAHAR 这些地方走走 其实他们很可怜
他们不识字 也不知道什么是保险
The Advanced Medical Directive legitimizes the unplugging of life support system and in a way, whilst it respects the wishes of the patient and saves medical costs n expenses for his\her family it saves costs for the Hospitals too. Life support systems are EX.
Hi, to translate, what Johnson is saying here is that there are many low-income living in single-unit flats (in the areas he mentioned) who are not as well off and the lack the funds needed to consult a doctor. They are illiterate and do not know what insurance is about.
Do you guys think health insurance concepts and financial/risk planning should be taught to the masses? Children?
I think such issues exists and yes, as much as they are very heart wrenching and sad and some think it is unscrupulous, they exist to remind us that there are really many who are marginalized by the current government policies, inadequate in address some aspects of healthcare.
Dcotors have to take what we called the Hippocratic Oath prior to even practicing medicine. Whilst reading part one of the article, i found it quite disturbing:
"And this has gotten to a point in which the doctors of a hospital won't operate on an urgent, life-and-death case unless the patient's insurance is under the purview of the hospital or that he/she can well afford it. The hospitals have the right to reject those in need, out of business reasons."
I don't remember any part of the Hippocratic Oath that links itself to that of business or economy-related notions.
My question is: If Hospitals' exisitence are for that of profit, then what is the price tag you are willing to tag ourselves with, since the very next moment, one of us could be lying on a hospital bed.
The advert and the acceptance of insurance companies worldwide in itself is an act of placing a price tag to one's life. You get yourself insured with $1 million, some $500,000 thinking that you are worth that amount of money, hoping that, when you have passed on, your loved ones can use the money you have left for them to continue their livelihood.
I think the idea of Life and Money are simply immiscible
My Sediments are that some of us may not have watched this show before. Apparantly it is one of the highest grossed mive in the US history since 1982. Here's an abstract from Wikipedia:
According to Sicko, almost fifty million Americans are uninsured and those who are covered are often victims of insurance company fraud and red tape. Interviews are conducted with people who thought they had adequate coverage but were denied care. Former employees of insurance companies describe cost-cutting initiatives that give bonuses to insurance company physicians and others to find reasons for the company to avoid meeting the cost of medically necessary treatments for policy holders, and thus increase company profitability.
In Canada, Moore describes the case of Tommy Douglas, who was voted the greatest Canadian in 2004 for his contributions to the Canadian health system. Moore also interviews a microsurgeon and people waiting in the emergency room of a Canadian public hospital.
Against the backdrop of the history of the American health care debate, opponents of universal health care are set in the context of 1950s-style anti-communist propaganda. A 1960s record distributed by the American Medical Association and narrated by Ronald Reagan warns that universal health care could lead to communism. In response, Moore shows that socialized public services like police, fire service, postal service, public education and community libraries have not led to communism in the United States.
The origins of the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 are presented using a taped conversation between John Ehrlichman and President Richard Nixon on February 17, 1971; Ehrlichman is heard telling Nixon that "...the less care they give them, the more money they make", a plan that Nixon remarked "fine" and "not bad". This led to the expansion of the modern HMO-based health care system. Connections are highlighted between Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the lobbying arm of the largest drug companies in the United States, lobbying groups in Washington D.C., and the United States Congress. Hillary Clinton, a champion of the Clinton health care plan, is shown as a crusader for change, appointed to reform the health care system in the United States by her husband, newly elected President Bill Clinton. Her efforts are met with heavy-handed criticisms by Republicans on Capitol Hill, and right-wing media throughout the country, who characterize her plan as the harbinger of socialism. When she is defeated, her punishment is to "never speak of it again while in the White House." Seven years later, her silence is rewarded, as she becomes a Senator for the State of New York, a victory made possible in part by money from the health care industry; she is second only to Rick Santorum as the Senate's highest recipient of health care industry campaign donations.
Michael Moore interviews a physician from the British National Health Service.[7]In the United Kingdom, a country whose National Health Service is a comprehensive publicly-funded health care system, Moore interviews patients and inquires about in-hospital expenses incurred by patients, only to be told that there are no out-of-pocket payments. Moore visits a UK pharmacy, where pharmaceuticals are free of charge for persons under 16 or over 60, and subsidised in most cases for everyone else; only a fixed amount of £6.65 (about $10.00) per item on a prescription is charged, irrespective of cost to the NHS. Further, NHS hospitals employ a cashier, part of whose job is to reimburse low-income patients for their out-of-pocket travel costs to the hospital. Interviews include an NHS general practitioner, an American woman residing in London, and Tony Benn, a Labour politician and former Member of Parliament. Benn compares a hypothetical attempt to dismantle the NHS with reversing women's suffrage and says it would result in a revolution.
In France, Moore visits a hospital and interviews the head of obstetrics and gynaecology and a
group of American expatriates. Moore rides with the "SOS Médecins", a 24-hour French medical service that provides house calls by physicians.[8] Moore discovers that the French government provides many social services, such as health care, public education (including universities), vacation and day care for $1 an hour and neonatal support that includes cooking, cleaning, and laundry services for new mothers.
Returning to the United States, interviews disclose that 9/11 rescue workers who volunteered after the September 11, 2001 attacks were denied government funds to care for physical and psychological maladies they subsequently developed, including respiratory disease and PTSD. Unable to receive and afford medical care in the U.S., the 9/11 rescue workers, as well as all of Moore's friends in the film needing medical attention, appear to sail from Miami to Cuba on three speedboats in order to obtain free medical care provided for the enemy combatants detained at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. The group arrives at the entrance channel to "Gitmo" and Moore uses a megaphone to request access, pleading for the 9/11 victims to receive treatment that is on par with the medical attention the "evildoers" are receiving. The attempt ceases when a siren is blown from the base, and the group moves on to Havana, where they purchase inexpensive medicine and receive free medical treatment.[9] Providing only their name and birth date, the volunteers are hospitalized and receive medical attention. Before they leave, the 9/11 rescue workers are honored by a local Havana fire station.
Finally, Moore addresses the audience, emphasizing that people should be "taking care of each other, no matter the differences". To demonstrate his personal commitment to this theme, Moore decides to help one of his biggest critics, Jim Kenefick, webmaster of MooreWatch. According to a blog posting, Kenefick feared he may have to shut down his anti-Moore website because he needed US $12,000 to cover the costs of medical treatment for his sick wife. Not wanting the U.S. health care system to trump Kenefick's ability to express his opinion, Moore sends Kenefick the money anonymously.
This film ends with Moore walking towards the United States Capitol with a basket full of his clothes, saying he will get the government to do his laundry until a better day comes for the sick and hopeless who are unable to receive health care.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicko
The Synopsis parallels thecommunitychat's stand of the failure in the US healthcare system.
Thanks for sharing!
Even the CNN agrees to a large part that the show 'Sicko' by Micheal is larger the truth.
You may find this article useful:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/06/28/sicko.fact.check/index.html
The Deleted Norway Scene in Michael Moore’s “Sicko”
Posted on November, 2007 under Documentary, Movie News, Movies
Michael Moore’s latest film, “Sicko”, which was released in US theaters this past summer, gave viewing audiences an in-your-face look at the state of the American healthcare system. And then, after we were shown the atrocities of the U.S. system, Michael Moore took us on a trip around the world to see what other countries’ healthcare systems were like. Canada and the United Kingdom seemed to be pretty well off, and France appeared to have it even better. But there was another country that Moore visited that did not make it into the final cut of the film because the studio thought that the footage would be too “unbelievable”.
That country Michael Moore visited was Norway, a country which has the world’s lowest murder rate. It also boasts one of the world’s best healthcare systems, and a very progressive approach to things like healthcare and incarceration. Here’s a clip of the deleted scene.
http://www.screenhead.com/reviews/the-deleted-norway-scene-in-michael-moores-sicko/
Sicko? The truth about the US healthcare system
Michael Moore's new film is a damning indictment of the way the world's richest country looks after those who fall ill. Andrew Gumbel finds out whether his accusations are justified
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/sicko-the-truth-about-the-us-healthcare-system-451651.html
Catch Micheal Moore's New Film, Capitalism, a Love Story:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-reports/film-review-by-leigh-paatsch-capitalism-a-love-story/story-e6frf8r6-1225794382701
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