Film LXI
LXI: SiCKO (Michael Moore, 2007)
One of Moore's hard-hitting attacks on the injustices of America and the different treatment of the rich (CEOs, politicians) and the poor (hard working families etc). Here the target is the healthcare system where those who can afford to pay health insurance find that they are only covered for part of the ailment, or covered up to a limit, or not covered because the treatment is held to be experimental or not necessary, or is for something declared to have been pre-existing or the form has been incorrectly filled in or they've raised money to pay for part of it, or it hasn't been pre-authorised. Moore includes interviews with doctors who are paid for the number of patients turned down and adjusters who are there to make sure people don't qualify.
The stunts are the immediately obvious - and in part look back to a segment on TV Nation - comparing the Canadian, Cuban, British and (gak) French systems, all of which appear to be free at the point of use. Back then - as I recall - he compared US, Mexican and Canadian. But the irony of the system now requires Moore to take 9/11 rescue workers to Guantanamo Bay, and, failing that, Cuba, were they are treated for a matter of cents.
As always with Moore the question is whether the generalised message - and the sentiment displayed - are negated by his use of selective evidence and fine tuning of details including chronology. Towards the end, Moore claims he has made an anonymous donation to cover the medical expenses of the wife one of his biggest critics. Well, that's no longer anonymous. It also suggests the problem of a financial distinction between him and the people he valorizes by the fact he can afford to pay it. Still, it surely did good. And as far as I can tell, his generalised point stands.
The assertion in the NHS context that no one has got turned down for treatment because of cost rings hollow in the age of cancer drugs that aren't prescribed due to cost and the woman too young to have cervical cancer echoes the man too young to have Alzheimer's. There have been improvements, and queues are down, but the NHS isn't paradise.
Except may be in comparison.
I guess the horror for the British audience is whether the increased emphasis on public-private partnerships - and the example of the difficulty of getting dental care - may lead us to a point where we are also held hostage to big pharma and the insurance corps.
Totals: 61 (Cinema: 21; DVD: 38; TV: 2)
One of Moore's hard-hitting attacks on the injustices of America and the different treatment of the rich (CEOs, politicians) and the poor (hard working families etc). Here the target is the healthcare system where those who can afford to pay health insurance find that they are only covered for part of the ailment, or covered up to a limit, or not covered because the treatment is held to be experimental or not necessary, or is for something declared to have been pre-existing or the form has been incorrectly filled in or they've raised money to pay for part of it, or it hasn't been pre-authorised. Moore includes interviews with doctors who are paid for the number of patients turned down and adjusters who are there to make sure people don't qualify.
The stunts are the immediately obvious - and in part look back to a segment on TV Nation - comparing the Canadian, Cuban, British and (gak) French systems, all of which appear to be free at the point of use. Back then - as I recall - he compared US, Mexican and Canadian. But the irony of the system now requires Moore to take 9/11 rescue workers to Guantanamo Bay, and, failing that, Cuba, were they are treated for a matter of cents.
As always with Moore the question is whether the generalised message - and the sentiment displayed - are negated by his use of selective evidence and fine tuning of details including chronology. Towards the end, Moore claims he has made an anonymous donation to cover the medical expenses of the wife one of his biggest critics. Well, that's no longer anonymous. It also suggests the problem of a financial distinction between him and the people he valorizes by the fact he can afford to pay it. Still, it surely did good. And as far as I can tell, his generalised point stands.
The assertion in the NHS context that no one has got turned down for treatment because of cost rings hollow in the age of cancer drugs that aren't prescribed due to cost and the woman too young to have cervical cancer echoes the man too young to have Alzheimer's. There have been improvements, and queues are down, but the NHS isn't paradise.
Except may be in comparison.
I guess the horror for the British audience is whether the increased emphasis on public-private partnerships - and the example of the difficulty of getting dental care - may lead us to a point where we are also held hostage to big pharma and the insurance corps.
Totals: 61 (Cinema: 21; DVD: 38; TV: 2)