The Aspen Poplar (Populus tremuloides) in Fish Creek Park in late October...
Movie Review: Sicko.
I've had Sicko recorded on the PVR since January of this year and finally watched it yesterday.
In Sicko, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine) looks at the state of health care in the USA.
Moore makes a convincing, driving case for reform of the US health care system by highlighting a plethora of individuals who have been denied health care because of cost of insurance or by unscrupulous HMO's/insurance companies (and their political lackeys) looking out for their bottom lines.
I thought Sicko, like Moore's other works, was pretty entertaining.
In order to entertain, he occasionally goes overboard in pressing his case.
For example, as part of his argument for socialized medicine in America, he does a comparative study of social medicine in countries like Great Britain, France and Canada (ugh). He questions "naive" consumers of medical care in each of countries on how they pay for services rendered by their respective health systems. Each patient answers, "it's free". I cringed each time I heard the word "free". Well, I want to warn my American friends that it isn't free. Nothin's free. We pay for it through taxes. Lots of taxes.
I could launch into an exhaustive lecture regarding the merits/demerits of socialized medicine (a system I hold dear to my Canadian heart) but that would be beyond the scope of this post.
I definitely recommend that you watch Sicko though (whether you like or dislike Michael Moore).
It might make you think.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Autumn On The Canadian Tundra 2010, Part 3. - Bonus Movie Review: Sicko
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2 comments:
Living under the US system for the last 21 years I can safely say that healthcare in the US is the most frustrating and incomprehensible system to navigate. I'd rather fill out my tax form. I've heard many horror stories of families that have insurance, one of the family members gets cancer, and then it is like pulling teeth to get a single dollar from the insurance company with reams of paperwork and rejected claims and exemptions. Ultimately, the house gets mortgaged, savings are drained, and the family is financially devastated.
If you have universal healthcare in your country there are no doubt going to be problems (this is the government after all) and inefficiencies. At least you won't end up penniless if you get seriously ill.
Why?
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