| IVL Products Health Watch - 'Sicko' Inspires Healthy Debate About An Ailing System |
| The Official IVL Products Health Blog |
Dear Reader,
Is Michael Moore a genius, a troublemaker, a whistleblower,
a crazed man, a brilliant filmmaker or all of the above? The
opinions about Moore may vary but the premise of "Sicko" is
considered universally legit: The American health care
system is critically ill.
Although there are 50 million Americans without health
insurance, Moore's film focuses primarily on the millions of
people who dutifully pay their insurance premium each and
every month, and when it comes time to draw upon the
reserve, find themselves ensnarled in red tape. Moore takes
aim at the insurance companies, health maintenance
organizations and legislators who he believes are often
"bought off" by big pharmaceutical companies and HMOs. He
calls private medical insurance a "disaster" and contends
that a state-run system, such as exists nearly everywhere
else in the industrialized world, would be better. Profit,
he argues, should never enter into the equation where a
person's health is concerned.
As part of his research Moore reviewed thousands of health
care nightmare stories, some of which he includes in the
film. He offers several heart-wrenching examples of people
who were jilted (sometimes fatally) by their health
insurance companies.
For example:
* A woman watches her husband slowly waste away with
kidney cancer in a hospital bed because the couple's
insurance company refused to pay for experimental treatments
that might have saved his life.
* A woman is denied emergency care because her car
accident had not been "pre-certified" by her insurance
company.
* A man looses two fingers in a chainsaw accident but
can only afford to have one of them reattached.
Moore contends that the job of the insurance companies is to
deny claims, whether they admit it or not. In "Sicko" he
interviews former insurance company employees who describe
quotas for claims denials and bonuses for anything above
quota. He talks to a doctor whose signature is stamped on a
series of denials to a woman suffering from a brain tumor.
It turns out the signatures are stamped without the doctor
ever reading the claims.
To illustrate the point that health care delivery is
different in other civilized nations, Moore visits England,
Canada and France, all of whom have government-run health
care systems. He presents an idyllic vision of the quality
of that care. (He even treks to Cuba at one point in the
film to seek help for uninsured 9/11 workers.)
The film has come under fire from medical professionals and
public officials who question the validity of his
statistical information. Dr. Sonjay Gupta of CNN put it this
way: "Michael has a lot of different numbers. He's sort of
cherry picking with different reports." At the same time,
Dr. Gupta believes that overall it is a good movie. "I think
it strikes at the irrefutable fact that our health system is
badly broken."
The leaders of both political parties will readily admit
that our health care system is critically ill. The argument
that this movie inspires will be primarily about the nature
of the cure, and that is where Moore's film is most useful.
He has a unique ability to preach without sounding
"preachy."
So what can you do to avoid health care delivery nightmares?
Eat your vegetables. Get plenty of rest and exercise and say
your prayers. Do anything you can to avoid getting sick.
With or without insurance, you can't afford it.
Yours in good health,
Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch
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Visit our Health Forum and ask a question of one of the
country's leading experts in nutritional medicine. |
Dr. Mikles is a Board Certified Internist,
and is the Medical Director of Choices Integrative
Healthcare Clinic in Sedona, Arizona. For more than 30
years, Dr. Mikles has been engaged in the study and practice
of the therapeutic effects of diet and nutrition, making him
one of the country's leading experts.
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