Sicko

nicolrenee says:

I just got back from seeing 'Sicko' with a group at the Angelika and let me tell you, I was impressed. Having read something of the film before going, I understood his data to have been well researched and it certainly was. It was also presented in a manner that opens eyes as well as minds. I won't spoil the documentary by revealing details, but I can say that this one kept me interested and listening the whole way through, and lit my fire even more than it already was. We should be rioting in the streets about the state of our healthcare system, but we are not. We should all be asking ourselves just why that is, and I think more of us will after seeing the movie.

boredkid says:

While this movie attemps to pull at your heart, he cherrypicks his facts. Forgots to tell you how much Canda and the UK pay in taxes. Also, how long they have to wait for health care. If health care is so good in those countries, why do so many people purchase a private health insurance. Its so they can get the care they want and go to the doctor they want.

DC says:

What is it about this movie that forces people to post about how little they know about every other country's health care? How many people in Canada and the UK have private health insurance?

The it's the private insurers in the US who restrict which doctors people can see, not the Canada Health Act nor the National Health Service. If people know so little about every other country's health care services, perhaps they should be asking themselves about how much they know about their own.

nicolrenee1968 says:

Yes, it may be true that people in other countries pay higher taxes. However, what you may not realize is that they have a better quality of life than we do. Do you realize that debt is almost unheard of in other countries? College is paid for in most of the high tax countries. Health care, preventative maintenance all the way through to critical care is paid for. There are other social services that we pay out of pocket for now and pay dearly for and often go into debt because of that they receive as a benefit. We pay through the nose for healthcare and receive as little benefit as the health insurance companies can possibly allow for that money, then STILL have to pay out of pocket for many expenses. Many people spend a decade paying off their college loans after they get out in the world into the earning public. I would be willing to pay higher taxes if it meant knowing I could be treated when I needed it and not have to worry about whether I could afford the care or not.

boredkid says:

dc, not sure what the percent is, but all my friends that live in the uk have private health insurance. So they can see the doc they want and get help when they need it.

Nic.... I dont know what you mean by higher quality of life. My friends in the uk stuggle with a college degree and a good job for good housing. While I with a lesser degree was able to purchase a home and able to travel around the world to see my friend at least once a month.

I have lived the vast majority of my life overseas, the only reason I live in Dallas or the US is the cost of living. I can make more and spend less and have a better life.

If you dislike the living conditions here, its easy, leave.

DC says:

I was about to respond to the several layers of drivel, but instead forget it.

Have fun shopping around for trauma providers and long term care when you really need it - fin -

nicolrenee says:

Honestly, that attitude (if you don't like it, there's the door) is at the root what is wrong with America today. When I don't like something, instead of kvetching needlessly about it but never doing anything, I actually choose to become part of the solution. I vote, I write my congressman, I volunteer in the community, I find ways to participate in creating positive change at home, in my work place and in my community when I find systems that are broken rather than accepting them for what they are.

People with degrees often struggle to find work if the area in which they are degreed is saturated in the community in which they wish to become employed. You will find that here in the US as well as elsewhere. People who want to live in areas where the cost of living is high (London, New York, Cali, etc) will also find it harder to purchase a home and get a job on what they can earn since it is high demand forcing prices up ever higher. That is consumer economics for you, the laws of supply and demand.

That being said, there is no denying the fact that Americans as a group (as opposed to one isolated person, such as yourself) tend to work more hours, take fewer vacations, and accumulate far greater amounts of debt than their counterparts elsewhere. Their health is worse and their life spans tend to be shorter as a result. Nearly 2/3 of Americans are overweight, and of that figure, a huge proportion (no pun intended) of those people are morbidly obese. There is no running from the fact that there are millions of Americans with no health insurance, many of those people earning incomes that fall below the poverty line, and these are often some of the same people with the most serious health conditions due to unavailability of quality affordable food and poor living conditions. Are you aware that there are often few grocery stores, if any, within walking distance in impoverished neighborhoods? In a wealthier neighborhood, there are usually 1-3 grocery stores in a 5 mile radius.

In the poorer neighborhoods, fuel prices are also typically higher. The people who can least afford to pay have to pay a higher price.

In poorer neighborhoods, there are greater percentages of asthma in children because of the living conditions in their homes and communities, higher rates of cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other expensive illnesses to treat.

Are you willing to look at our system and honestly say that it is perfect and there is no way in which it could be better?

Even if you can't agree on all of the points the movie makes, if nothng else, 'Sicko' points the finger at some of the dark little shameful secrets of the healthcare industry, something that is long overdue. It doesn't matter how you look at the facts, we have a broken system and it is time for a change. Will the perfect change be national healthcare? I don't know, but what I do know is that what we are faced with now is unacceptable. You, john doe, might be doing fine and are happy. However, there are many millions of other Americans who are suffering needlessly and dying every year because of our broken healthcare system. We are among the wealthiest nations in the world, we have some of the best healthcare facilities and best physicians in the world. Why, then are we faced with a healthcare crisis?

One other thing that falls completely under the radar in this country by and large is the importance of preventative care. If a person is receiving routine medical care on a regular basis, diseases and warning signs of illnesses are caught much sooner and are treated or managed on an outpatient basis before the patient falls into a critical care status. By treating the patient early and often, the industry actually saves money because the patients are healthier and have better outcomes, are less likely to come down with major illnesses and diseases requiring life long care and expensive treatment and hospitalization.

Think what you like about how your life is going. I am glad it is working for you. Do consider through that not everyone has a life as rosy as your own. Just because something is not broken for you does not mean that it isn't still broken.

CastleHills says:

People in the US always talk about how "long" people in Canada/UK wait for healthcare, and I laugh at their ignorance.
I have a friend who works very low-paying jobs, who has never had healthcare insurance. He has bad knees from high school football. He has told me that he would GLADLY--let me repeat, GLADLY--wait 6 months or a year to see a doc about his knees. Know why? Because a year's wait is preferable to... NEVER.