SiCKO & Singapore - Part #1

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.

    

Reflection - healthcare issue

Taking time to reflect how our CoP has come thus far, we would like to thank you all again for spending time to think about our discussion topics and contributing value to this blog. Whether it's a mere 2-cents' worth of personal opinions, references to what others have said or honest insights into the industry, it's nothing short of creating value for our project. Your input reflect the breadth of knowledge and depth of thought.

Many times in our posts, we have centered our conversations around the issue of caregiving and put focus on what the voices of the communities are saying. Saying to policy makers, opinion leaders of the industry, researchers, health service providers. In a handful of comments, we sense passion in your beliefs, we see revelation of the health sector.

I was watching tonight's documentary on the phenomenon of depression in the Singapore society, Channel 8's 无忧无郁 and for moments of the enactment of a depressed caregiver tending to her elderly mother and her emotional breakdown, I can almost identify with the trials she goes through, save for, maybe, the suicidal tendencies. And it dawned even more heavily on me (aside from the fact that this series on depression is shown) that as a people, each of us is experiencing some extent, some form of depression. In each of our very own right, we are.

The issue of health care is not merely a national concern taxonomized into the areas of medical research, caregiving, hospitals, medical ethics, epidemics and so forth, it complicatedly involves the society we're in. We are, but a stressed nation and each of us is a participant of the health sector. There's no avoiding this.

It is an unsettled community, perpetually never at rest for fear of contracting H1N1, for fear of being quarantined for long and losing our jobs, for worrying over our babies and geriatric members of the family, for rising medical costs, for deficiencies of national health insurance system our cases fall into, for seeing an unethical GP.

For a population that has increased exponentially in the past one year, for an alarmingly overburdened economically active population of this society, for limited and affordable medical facilities catered to the average Singaporean... each sub-issue under the arc of 'health care' never stands alone, and when we try to contemplate or when the government strives to tackle its problems, we ought to take into account our very social fabric, the availability and accessibility of medical technologies, the affordability of hospital facilities, the psychological experience of our loved ones as patients, the planning of a household for the future, the mental fortitude of a caregiver in tough times, the social network of friends and relatives leveraged for support and help.

The health sector is more than dynamic, it's more than what an academic journal can critique; it's intertwined with so many issues at hand. It should be viewed in the larger context of population control and management, the politics that defy change and curb grassroots voices, national funds, the social and private environments we live in. Each issue should never be siphoned off and taken separately from the larger webs of context the issue is embedded in.

When you embrace one, you embrace all the baggage that comes with it.
      

Take more fruits... still

2006. TV news reported the collaborative project between HPB and Cold Storage. Results show 60% of Singaporeans do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and are at high risk of degenerative diseases. This video features the same news coverage on Channel 5, Channel 8 and Channel U.

HPB TV Ad

Some time back, some said it's lame but I think it drives the point home.

MediShield questioned

Indeed, we concur with insurance veteran's statement:
Without transparency, there is a risk that a huge reserve will never be used in the lifetime of the contributing members

As contributors to the pool, we have a right to know how MOH intends to use MediShield to cover congenital illnesses so that it can build up sufficient reserves to fund future claims. This is because variables such as individual claims experience, medical history and age determine a contributor's premium and if MOH were to apply a one-size-fits-all approach, there are people who will be unfairly treated without even knowing the methods and principles adopted by MOH to adjust premiums.

We say no to unnecessarily add to the cost of health care.
      
Source: Tan Kin Lian. ST Forum. MYPOINT. October 3, 2009. Pg. A43.