Kudos to Michael Moore

Like the lush that I am, I skirted out of work on a long lunch break this afternoon to catch Michael Moore’s “Sicko”. Before I digress, I’d like to backup a bit and say I’m really not a fan of the guy. He’s definitely not an altruist. In my not so humble opinion, Bowling for Columbine started out great but then fell flat when the film become more about Moore and less about gun control; an issue near and dear to my heart. Roger and Me was too preachy. But, Moore’s last two outings (Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko) have been nothing but superb.

What makes Sicko most effective is that it is a call to action and not just a film about how screwed up we are in the US. Since my return to the coffee shop this evening, I’ve already witnessed numerous health care representatives, members of the congress and government, as well as lobbyists, on cable TV belly-aching about how Moore’s film is misleading. But is it really?

Let’s get down to the basics. Private industry is in business for one purpose: to make a profit. A private healthcare system – such as what we have in the US – is essentially one built on this tenet. To think otherwise is nonsense. So, why all of the fear about “socialized medicine”; the term used in abundance by all but Tommy Thompson during the last Republican debate? What is it we’re really afraid of?

Moore’s forays into the Canadian, French and Cuban health systems should not be taken lightly. They are strong examples of where and how we continue to fail not just our poor and elderly, but also every middle-income American who has to deal with our failed health system.

For example, this past month I decided to visit three different doctors for different ailments for the first time in almost three years. I have slightly better coverage than an HMO (PPO) and made sure I used only doctors within the “network”. Just this past week I received bills totaling more than $300 dollars, which caught me by surprise. I contacted my insurance company to find out why the in-network visits cost so much. They replied that I hadn’t yet met my deductible and therefore had to pay for the doctor’s visits almost entirely. In short, I got my teeth cleaned, and had two other “specialists” put their fingers up my arse for five minutes only to tell me that I’m healthy (hey, I’m nearly 40 so I’ve got to be careful these days). Had I known back in May what I know now I would’ve preferred to buy a Wii, or something more useful like a steady diet of fast food.

Go see the film. Discuss it with friends. And remember the message: Something has to change ‘cause what we have doesn’t work.