SICKO...I never thought I'd say this but...

[sezperai]

**WARNING** IF YOU CAN HAVE SPOILERS FOR A DOCUMENTARY...THIS POST HAS A COUPLE OF LIGHT ONES. **WARNING**


DAMN I gotta give Michael Moore credit.

Even though I have pretty much hated his ways since Bowling for Columbine (a bit too much ambush journalism for me)....he has NAILED it with Sicko.

I just got a chance to "screen" *cough* Sicko and, even though I already knew how fucked the healthcare system in this country is...I'm STILL pissed off now that it's over.

For those of you who haven't seen it....those of you that are American anyway..PLEASE watch this film. Moore has dropped his ambush tactics for this look into the healthcare system of America.


I will admit, I got a bit worried about halfway through when I started hearing the praises of the great Hillary (Clinton that is)...but was VERY pleased to see him come right back and show that she was bought off as well by the health"care" establishment.

I also believe he did a good thing by not taking the point of view of those that are uninsured...as that would just give people something to bitch about (IE: "well fuck them...they should pay for insurance like I do!")....instead he introduced us to a few Americans that ARE insured and still refused medical treatment.

If you can watch this film and still say we as American's live in the greatest country on Earth......I pity you.


I watched my own grandmother go through the same problems the people in this film go through, so I can say first hand that this film NAILS it. She was insured also, yet couldn't afford to live because of all the money she had to spend on her medication. She was in a wheelchair as a result of losing her leg to diabetes and had an income of a whopping 435 dollars a month, yet she received NO assistance from the government. Her total in medication for her diabetes alone was over 600 dollars a month. Not to mention the 180 a month she paid for her shitty insurance, the avg. 400 a month for doctor's visits and let's not forget FOOD (which we bought).

It's about time the people in this country do a bit of hell raising and protesting of our own.


who's with me?
jasn

[Digifruitella]

yeah bro, i gave this baby a 10. I loved this documentary because it really shows you the truth, should get all the Moore haters off his back because they can't deny he is downright CORRECT about this topic.

[God of War]

Having seen the trailer to this, I was taken back. The name for some reason had me thinking it was a gory horror movie. But this is real life horror by the sounds of it. I really want to see this show. I'm guessing that it's another eye-opener to the public, kinda like the way "An Inconvenient Truth", was? I love a good documentary, no matter what the subject matter. And this looks to be no exception.

[sezperai]

Originally posted by God of War
Having seen the trailer to this, I was taken back. The name for some reason had me thinking it was a gory horror movie. But this is real life horror by the sounds of it. I really want to see this show. I'm guessing that it's another eye-opener to the public, kinda like the way "An Inconvenient Truth", was? I love a good documentary, no matter what the subject matter. And this looks to be no exception.


I'm a sucker for a documentary as well......although I felt that Farenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine and An Inconvenient Truth were great examples of promoting a personal agenda to further oneself....Sicko was indeed a redeeming moment for Michael Moore for me...

he has officially graduated from Fucking liberal moron with a hidden agenda and shoddy movie making skills to Fucking liberal moron who just made the ONE documentary people in this country MUST see....


in case you can't tell....i really don't like Michael Moore and I'm STILL admitting that he nailed it with this one......that's the sign of a truly great film....



now I must go find a way to kick myself in the nuts for promoting Michael Moore,
Jasn

[inglourious basterd]

I *really* hope that this movie gets lauded by the general public. Universal Health Care has been a hot topic for over 15 years, but nothing has changed. All people -- including schmoes -- need to be aware of the issues.

I agree that Moore's filmmaking style is annoying (despite the fact that I tend to agree with many of his conclusions), but I like his stance for this film. He is pushing an important issue that is relevant regardless of your political affiliation. He isn't really spoonfeeding us the answer, but he's asking an important question: why don't we have what everyone else has?

More importantly, why is over half of our country underinsured or non-insured?

Speaking for myself, personally, I cannot get insurance because insurance providers refuse service due to a 'pre-existing condition'. I was diagnosed with a genetic, treatable skin condition as a teen and that automatically disqualifies me from signing up for private insurance. In other words, the insurance companies refuse service to me because they feel that I will not be profitable.

This is our system and it is what we have to deal with. I really hope that we will one day have a universal health system that will allow me to get the health care coverage that I (and half of our country) require(s).

[The Postmaster General]

Yeah, having to of dealt with various medical procedures over the past 17 months, I've seen a lot of strageness. Namely how my insurance company hikes my premiums up 600% in order to add a child. Mainly it's that one that bugs me, but I'm pretty keen to the way capitalized health care comes down to profit over service.

[CreeperBEATNGU]

I think it tops Fahrenheit 911 for me, which I liked quite a bit.

Another witty, funny, and overall entertaining way to address how seriously fucked up modern America is (and has been for a while in this case).

Can someone tell me what Bush said at the beginning of the movie? Something about people not being able to have relations with women.

I couldn't make it out because the audience was drowning it out.

[electriclite]

Originally posted by CreeperBEATNGU

Can someone tell me what Bush said at the beginning of the movie? Something about people not being able to have relations with women.

I couldn't make it out because the audience was drowning it out.


"We've got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."

[dellamorte dellamore]

He must not read the headlines , they are all over their patients every chance they get :D .

I think the way to go is for the States to make their own decisions as to whether they will implement Uni care , for some reason , anytime there is a problem , real or perceived , certain politicians feel the only way to remedy the situation is on the federal level . We're still the United States , not a federal state . I don't want to become Europe , Canada or anyone else , the seperation of the states powers and the federal government's is too important to erode any further because politicians want to save the populace . Let the people in each state make that decision .

Plus , we have medicare and medicaid , which is essentially uni care , for people of meager means and senior citizens , so we already have something in place that resembles or acts like uni care . If Moore wants to foot the tax bill for even more fed gov programs , he can be my guest , but when 40 per of my paycheck is gone before i even touch it , than fekk that , i'm not willing to pay more for this type of scheme .

It's not the nirvana people are making it out to be , and some people wait ages to get treated , on average , longer than someone with private insurance .

[inglourious basterd]

Originally posted by dellamorte dellamore


Plus , we have medicare and medicaid , which is essentially uni care , for people of meager means and senior citizens , so we already have something in place that resembles or acts like uni care . .

As someone in health care, this is my opinion.

There is an obvious problem. You are right that medicare is essential uni health care for senior citizens, but this does nothing for the 40 million americans that have NO insurance and the millions more that are UNDERINSURED (the people that have shitty insurance coverage). Under the current system, many people in the United States simply either cannot afford insurance AND/OR are REFUSED insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

This is the problem. When someone is deemed "unprofitable" by the standards of the for profit insurance companies, they simply won't receive treatment.

This being said -- implementing Universal Health Care DOES NOT necessarily mean that we will have to spend more out of our pockets. As it stands, we're already spending more per person for health coverage. This is the significance behind the comparision of the dollars and cents that Moore is making. The majority of our costs are going to insurance middle management. We're paying them to make decisions regarding whether they will or will not pay for our treatment. If we can implement a system where we eliminate this unnecessary middle man, then we can become so much more efficient.

[electriclite]

Originally posted by dellamorte dellamore
He must not read the headlines , they are all over their patients every chance they get :D .

I think the way to go is for the States to make their own decisions as to whether they will implement Uni care , for some reason , anytime there is a problem , real or perceived , certain politicians feel the only way to remedy the situation is on the federal level . We're still the United States , not a federal state . I don't want to become Europe , Canada or anyone else , the seperation of the states powers and the federal government's is too important to erode any further because politicians want to save the populace . Let the people in each state make that decision .

Plus , we have medicare and medicaid , which is essentially uni care , for people of meager means and senior citizens , so we already have something in place that resembles or acts like uni care . If Moore wants to foot the tax bill for even more fed gov programs , he can be my guest , but when 40 per of my paycheck is gone before i even touch it , than fekk that , i'm not willing to pay more for this type of scheme .

It's not the nirvana people are making it out to be , and some people wait ages to get treated , on average , longer than someone with private insurance .


Yeah, but then when you lose 100% of your savings because of an illness and shoddy coverage, that 40% by comparison starts to look at lot more appealing. That's the reality of the situation, medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcy in this country, so considering that this is a growing experience of many Americans, a lot of people just might find themselves more willing to accept that 40% option of the 100% or 40% rule than back when Hillary Clinton introduced the the plan over a decade ago.

The benefits of private insurance are great, but because its so great is why those companies are trying to shove so many of their subscribers into the cracks of the system that they're creating.

There are documented cases of insurance claims being misrepresented. They'll tell you you have a comprehensive plan when in actuality its supplemental. Tell you that they'll cover 200k worth of a procedure but in practice it'll only cover $2000 worth of that procedure a day. then of course they'll try to shove you into the category of "pre-existing" condition for either the most inocuous of conditions (re SiCKO: a yeast infection) or they'll try and classify an illness as pre-existing even though you were never treated for it before you received coverage (known as "Prudent Person Rule (http://www.floridainsurancedirect.com/groupDisability/preExisting.html) "). Add on top of this the continuously rising rates and sinking in the quality of care and private insurance is eventually going to mean squat!

Don't get me wrong, after this administration, I'm more than a bit reluctant to have my health cared for by the government, but the present system is clearly ineffective and is dangerously affecting not only the lives of US citizen but our businesses and economy. Reform is definitely long overdue and urgently needed.

[dellamorte dellamore]

I'll take your word for it then because all i know is that i pay a certain percentage , a fee , taken out of every paycheck for insurance through my job , and it hardly pays for anything , what a joke it is , and there's a copay on top of that for each doctor visit , what the fekk i already paid a copay with the money they took out .


If they want this uni care , i say , it should be an option , i don't want a fed government mandate that stipulates or forces everyone to pay into the scheme , i should still have the option to stay private through my job , and if i do , i shouldn't be forced to pay for the uni care , an exemption should be made for people that choose not to participate . Then to me that's fair , but i f i choose to go private and they still take money out of my paycheck , then that's ludicrous , cause like someone who sends their kids to private school yet still has to pay for the public schools they aren't using , it's unfair .


The key to this is choice , people have to be given the choice to participate or opt out .

[inglourious basterd]

Originally posted by dellamorte dellamore
I'll take your word for it then because all i know is that i pay a certain percentage , a fee , taken out of every paycheck for insurance through my job , and it hardly pays for anything , what a joke it is , and there's a copay on top of that for each doctor visit , what the fekk i already paid a copay with the money they took out .
.

What if universal health care ends up as expensive or less expensive than what you're currently spending for insurance? The problem with the current system is that a signifcant amount of our money spent on health care are being wasted on the administrative costs of insurance.

Take out the middle man and have universal health care and more Americans may be able to be covered for similar costs. But this will admittedly take radical reform on the federal level.

What you have to understand is that you will be paying for health care regardless of whether or not insurance is private or public. In the big picture, what is important is that we get health care for every American. This is a big, big issue.

[bourahioro]

Originally posted by Digifruitella
yeah bro, i gave this baby a 10. I loved this documentary because it really shows you the truth, should get all the Moore haters off his back because they can't deny he is downright CORRECT about this topic.

So far (with the exception of Roger and me), I've loved everything that Michael Moore has done; This is just a case of him getting better and better, and telling it like it is.

10/10 for ALL of his films!....His look at France and the UK made me want to move there. And I'm from Canada.



...And for the record, living in Canada, you pay between 5 and 14% taxes on everything, and they only take about 18% out of the average person's paycheque (and this is for employment insurance, not medicare)....so your regular taxes for gas, food, electronics, whatever, are so unnoticable, that it doesn't matter. Difference is that when we go to the hospital to have a kid or something, you won't get ass-raped by the hospital for debt.