As much as SiCKO provides a fertile ground for us to criticise the US healthcare system (and ours), it actually offers many beautiful possibilities that Singapore can look forward to.
Through comparisons with other countries. France, Canada, UK and even... Cuba.
Here, M. Moore chats with a doctor of the famous UK National Health Services (NHS) and finds out that in a system where no one is denied medical treatment in the UK and costs of medicine and treatment are either zero or just comfortably affordable, a doctor like the one above can live in a one million-pound home, enjoy fine wine, family time and practise ethical consulting all at the same time
In fact, under a new system of the NHS, a doctor gets paid more if he can get patients to stop smoking. How wonderful is that? In driving continual medical improvements through meaningful KPIs. No wonder the NHS is a strong case study of success in the field of knowledge management, and other academic disciplines.
In France, Michael Moore found out you can even tap on the French government to provide nannies for your baby and well, do your own laundry. The people's welfare put at heart. In the film, Moore shadowed a government-paid mobile doctor who went around Paris performing housecall duties to ordinary folks ill at home. I remember one time, a friend of mine had her elderly landlady suffering in great pain and immobility. She called the neighbourhood doctor (HDB) and was told firmly: "You have to call the ambulance, we don't provide such services."
You mean to say, if someone within a 1 km radius of your clinic is immobile and needs resuscitation (or even revival for life-and-death cases), your doctor will not come to save a life?!?!
Of course, many or in fact the Singapore government may argue that welfarism of this kind breeds complacency and over-reliance on government resources, we are for workfarism. But we would say that real world outcomes have shown that, the dichotomy in the welfare the French people and Singaporeans receive in terms of healthcare is so vast. Self-sufficiency is good but more government help is appreciated--it alleviates so much anguish and stress.
There's one place under the purview of the US government where medical facilities are accessible and guaranteed--ironically, the Guantanamo Bay where terrorists are imprisoned. As the film suggests, this place is better than any place on the mainland where basic healthcare services are concerned. On the premise of international human rights, even terrorists who perpetuated 9/11 receive better care than Americans.
The lady above featured in SiCKO is a 9/11 heroine and through rescue work on Ground Zero, she has been suffering severe bronchial damage due to inhaling waste, debris and dust. You would imagine that a self-sacrificing heroine like her should deserve free healthcare services in the States but no, she struggled, and had to move out of her city home to somewhere more affordable. Compare she... and the Guantanamo terrorists.
And in a touching turn to the film, Moore brings the individuals denied of health services featured in his documentary to nearby Cuba in search of medical treatment. He finds the insulting cheap prices of the same medicine in Cuba and finds medical treatment affordable, available for these victims of America's healthcare system. He brings 9/11 heroes to a local fire department where they are recognised and respected in deference for their rescue work. A totally different treatment from what they got in the States. Here, the heroes exchange handshakes and heartwarming hugs with the firemen.
Michael Moore asks in his film: "Who invented his system?" (Read: ridiculous healthcare system)
And this post harkens back to our mentions of a strained Singapore population; Singaporeans, many of whom through a frugal approach to life walk on a tightrope, maintain self-sufficiency but at the end of the day, are driven to fatigue and depression because of the many expectations, and the many roles they play. Over the years, the rich-poor divide has widened very greatly in the city-state. Like the CEOs of US insurance companies who became/are billionnaires and milk the firms in their some 3-4 years of stint, our rich has become ultra rich and the sandwiched portiion of the middle class are struggling with caregiving, paying for medical bills--and with juggling with their full-time jobs.
Yes, Singapore is an Asian country and we need not model ourselves after Western healthcare, welfare-oriented models but surely we have a mature health market and surely, a little bit from the Republic can help the needy so much. We all need a break.
15 comments:
actually the show is a wake-up call... i ve oso watched his other works... the one of Mac and Fahrenheit 9/11
I have watched this show before. Apparantly Micheal is a great director at such areas.
I think you wrote a superb critic on the show and the comparison drawn were simply fantastic! Great job! I enjoyed reading the articles!
To go from meritocracy to welfarism would be equivalent to asking Singapore to go back to farming. Welfarism, in my opinion would make a good candidate for a failed system, be it political or healthcare, or whatever system.
I guess it is not so much about moving from meritocracy to welfarism but maybe still maintain meritocracy with an added dimension or dose of walfarism.
I think in recent years and quarters, the act of distributing money to citizen is a good start at moving towards welfare and maintaining our postion as meritocracy state.
Does Michael Moore's "SICKO" Have Its Facts Straight?
In fact, you should have already known that there are alot of critics of this film, so before we relate it back to Singapore context, it will be nice to read the following alternative view:
PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 16, 2007 – SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, JUNE 16, 2007 (ASRN.ORG) - Michael Moore's premier of "Sicko" was an overwhelming success at the Cannes Film Festival. When the curtain went down it received a 15-minute standing ovation, and had made even the most hardened journalists weep. It told the story of an American health system in crisis.
President Bush frequently calls the American health system "the best health system in the world." It is a bi-partisan statement used by both Republicans and Democrats alike. Republican Rudy Giuliani said it on the Presidential campaign trail this year and John Kerry said it while campaigning in 2004. Our question is simply, are these statements political rhetoric or factual?
The movie "Sicko" shows a family selling all their possessions and living in their daughter's storage room to afford health care. And they had medical insurance.
It shows terror suspects at Guantanamo getting better health care than most typical American families. It criticizes U.S. private insurance and pharmaceutical companies and HMOs. It praises socialized medicine in countries like France, the UK, and Canada.
Armed with plenty of statistics, Moore states, "the U.S. is the richest country in the world and spends more on health care than any other country, yet we have the worst health care system in the Western world." Moore says "the U.S. also has the lowest life expectancy and highest infant mortality rate in the Western world. Come on. We can do better than this."
Moore recently stated that the HMO and pharmaceutical industries are gearing up to fight "Sicko." Moore says he's getting so many great whistle blower letters, internal memos, and messages taken from servers, that he wants even more to stay "ahead of whatever they are up to."
We decided that we wanted to know just what the facts are. Is Moore right or is President Bush? Does America have the best health system in the world, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality or is Moore right? Are we spending more than any other country in the Western world? And if so, are we getting the worst health care system for our dollars? Both sides have facts, but whose are right?
When we surveyed select counties across the world for life expectancy, which was defined as the life expectancy at birth for both sexes, the U.S. fared very poorly.
The U.S. came in 17th, tied with Cyprus, with a life expectancy of 78.0. Here are the countries in the top 17: Japan (81.4); Switzerland (80.6); Sweden (80.6); Australia (80.6); Canada (80.3); Italy (79.9); France (79.9); Spain (79.8); Norway (79.7); Israel (79.6); Greece (79.4); Austria (79.2); New Zealand (79.0); Germany (79.0); U.K. (78.7); Finland (78.7); Cyprus (78.0); and the U.S. (78.0).
In our survey of select countries across the world for infant mortality, which was defined as the number of deaths per 1,000 live births, the U.S. again did poorly.
The U.S. came in 16th, below South Korea, with an infant mortality rate of 6.4. Here are the countries in the top 16: Sweden (2.8); Japan (3.2); Finland (3.5); Norway (3.6); Czech Republic (3.9); France (4.2); Spain (4.3); Denmark (4.5); Austria (4.5); Canada (4.6); Australia (4.6); Portugal (4.9); UK (5.0); New Zealand (5.7); South Korea (6.1); U.S. (6.4).
The next question is whether the U.S. truly spends more than any other country in the world on health care. This would indeed indicate a mismanagement of funds budgeted for the health care system.
While there may be mitigating circumstances, these would have to be deemed controllable by the most powerful nation on earth.
We then surveyed per capita health expenditures, by country, which was defined as the sum of public and private expenditures, in U.S. dollars, divided by the population. Health expenditure includes the provision of health services (preventive and curative); family planning activities, nutrition activities and emergency aid designated for health, but excludes the provision of water and sanitation.
Again, Moore's facts checked out. The U.S. spends $5,711 per person. That's a whopping 33% more than the next highest spending country, Norway. Norway spends only $3,809 per person.
Here are the top 27 highest per capita spending countries in the world: U.S. ($5,711); Norway ($3,809); Switzerland ($3,776); Luxembourg ($3,776); Iceland ($3,110); Germany ($3,001); Canada ($2,989); Netherlands ($2,987); France ($2,902); Australia ($2,874); Denmark ($2,762); Sweden ($2,704); Ireland ($2,496); U.K. ($2,389); Austria ($2,306); Italy ($2,266); Japan ($2,244); Finland ($2,108); Greece ($1,997); Israel ($1,911); New Zealand ($1,893); Spain ($1,853); Portugal ($1,791); Slovenia ($1,669); Malta ($1,436); Czech Republic ($1,302).
Finally, If the U.S. truly has the "best health care system in the world" you'd expect it to have the highest number of physicians per 100,000 people. Or else it should be very, very close to the top of the list.
However, this time the results are shocking. The U.S. isn't even on the list of the top thirty countries in the world that have the highest number of physicians per 100,000 people.
These top 30 countries are, by number of physicians to 100,000 people: Cuba (591); Saint Lucia (517); Belarus (455); Belgium (449); Estonia (448); Greece (438); Russian Federation (425); Italy (420); Turkmenistan (418); Georgia (409); Lithuania (397); Israel (382); Uruguay (365); Iceland (362); Switzerland (361); Armenia (359); Bulgaria (356); Azerbaijan (355); Kazakhstan (354); Czech Republic (351); Portugal (342); Austria (338); France (337); Germany (337); Hungary (333); Spain (330); Sweden (328); Lebanon (325); Malta (318); Slovakia (318).
Michael Moore's style aside, it's hard to argue the facts.
Does Michael Moore's "SICKO" Have Its Facts Straight?
http://www.prlog.org/10020507-does-michael-moore-sicko-have-it-facts-straight.html
American healthcare industry attempts to discredit movie Sicko
Bill Moyers interviews former health insurance industry executive Wendell Potter, who left the field after almost 20 years to become a health reform advocate. Check out Potters take on the campaign against Michael Moore’s film Sicko and tune in to Bill Moyers Journal, Friday, July 10, 2009 at 9PM on PBS for his experiences inside the health insurance industry, their work fighting a public option, and the insurance companies close ties to Washington.
http://i.justrealized.com/2009/07/12/american-healthcare-industry-attempts-to-discredit-movie-sicko/
Four snouts for Sicko directed by Michael Moore now playing in theaters everywhere (I hope). Even though Ralph and Mike are at odds, I consider this another great Nader date movie--Bill and I and the two or three other couples who both worked for Ralph Nader are so blessed to have this genre.
We loved this film. I laughed, mostly I cried, and I walked out with a renewed sense of how much of a crucial difference in real people's lives it would make to have national health insurance.
As someone who spent a decade working for almost every major organization in the country that fights for universal health care, I expected to agree with this film; I didn't expect to learn much.
I was wrong on both counts. I didn't agree with all the film-maker's choices and I learned a few things. If Michael Moore's goal was to make a film which could convince mainstream audiences that they'd be better off under national health insurance, he could have shown a little more restraint. In France he should have stopped short of showing us the amazing state-funded childcare and laundry services and in Cuba, he should have simply pointed out that a poor nation like that can afford good health care. By setting up a totalitarian society as an example, he risks undermining his whole point: we can do this here in America, national health insurance is compatible with a capitalist democratic system.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not the target audience here. My resume reads like that of a socialist girl scout. From 1992 to 2002 I worked as an advocate for single payer health care for Public Citizen, Physicians for a National Health Program, Neighbor to Neighbor and the California Nurses Association.
My father was an activist college professor who marched for Democratic Socialists of America. He used to say a socialist "is a communist with 3 children." At age 12, I stood in Balboa Park for hours collecting data for a study I was doing about people's views on publicly-funded programs.
What I learned that day was later confirmed as a health care advocate, most Americans still think they hate Socialism and government-run anything, even while they depend upon the fire department, library, post office and schools. I have even heard people in focus groups say, I kid you not, "let the government keep its hands off of my Medicare."
In other words, Americans want national health insurance...without the government.
What I learned in this movie was that I carry a buried pain in me from living in a society that has been duped by doctors and HMOs into not taking care of its own.
With health care reform likely to fall apart on the California legislature's watch yet again, and a compromised Hilary Clinton a leading contender for U.S. President, what Moore most accomplished for me is to revive a latent dream of mine to move to Paris and become a deliriously happy ex-pat.
See the film, and join me on the Left Bank.
A bientot, enjoy the Fourth of July!
Sara S. Nichols is a dynamic public speaker who has appeared on Larry King, Jerry Springer, the Newshour with Jim Lehrer and talk radio. She lives in Sacramento and writes from time to time on politics on snicholsblog where this article first appeared. It is republished with her permission.
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/a_california_he.html
Micheal Moore is in the limelight again. In TODAY Newspaper, it was reported that he is protected by body guards 24/7. Reason? For doing what he has been doing -- being a critic and exposing what-nots in his documentary.
So much for his love and passion.
Is the sacrifice worth it?
Raphael... perhaps. He's doing what he does very well. Satires.
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