On The Blackwater

Musing on retirement, writing, puppies, and whatever else strikes my fancy

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Spending my life in 20-year increments: DC, Calif, Maine, & now in the BlueRidge Mountains of VA, where my YoChon, Sadie Mae, has started to blog...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Sicko, the movie

I've never been a fan of Michael Moore's, but am watching lots of TV these days and his documentary, Sicko, showed up on my schedule (HBO? not sure).

There was no way I could turn this off. Here was MM traveling to Canada, France, the UK, places where there is a National Health Service in place, and interviewing citizens, seriously ill patients, doctors, everyone with a strong opinion in FAVOR of NHS. I'd always heard those systems did not work, that they were too costly to taxpayers, that the health care was inadequate, that Canadians had to travel to the US to get their needed health care unless they wanted to wait up to a year for surgery.

I guess I believed what the U.S. gov't wanted me to believe...particularly those members of Congress who receive massive donations from the insurance companies.

The beginning segment of Sicko covered people in the U.S. who had been refused coverage under their insurance primarily because their insurance company rewarded those employees who turned down the most appeals, calling procedures "experimental" even though they were clearly NOT experimental.

Well, I'm probably the last person around to see this movie, but if not, I'd highly recommend it. People live longer in those countries with a NHS in place. MM even took some 9/11 firemen whose health issues had not been covered, to Havana, Cuba (!) where they were instantly eligible for the needed health care...for free...and meds...for free. And Cuban firefighters even had a small ceremony when they heard they were there, to honor our firefighters before they left to go back to the U.S.

Watch the documentary. It is such a wake-up call.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

I am dying to see that movie! The health care system here in America is atrocious.

www.GreenerPastures--ACityGirlGoesCountry.blogspot.com

10:36 PM  
Blogger CountryDew said...

This movie made me cry because it points out what is so wrong with health care in this country. People should not end up destitute and impoverished because they are sick.

7:35 AM  

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