Filmmaker Michael Moore dives into the nightmarish American health care system, and compares it to the Canadian, U.K. and French systems.
At the beginning of this film you would hope never to be ill or injured while living or travelling in the United States. This is a country with some of the most skilled physicians in the world working in advanced research facilities with top notch equipment. But if you are unlucky enough to get cancer or some other serious ailment, the cost of being treated without insurance just might leave you destitute for the better part of your life. Michael Moore takes an up close and personal look at the horrors of U.S. health care, and whether you are insured or not doesn't seem to matter. It could be a death sentence either way.
Very Expensive Treatment
The film begins with an ordinary American who, like many others, has required emergency assistance from hospitals from time to time. An uninsured man who accidentally sawed the tops of his middle and ring fingers off was given a choice. He was told the top of the middle finger could be re-attached for $60,000, or the ring finger, for $12,000. He chose the latter option.
You Might Not Get Help Even With Insurance
Many pre-existing conditions are not covered by some HMO groups. Cancer, diabetes and heart disease can make applicants ineligible for coverage. Moore talked to people from all walks of life and their stories were nothing short of ghoulish. A California woman named Nelene Fox died of cancer because her insurance company refused to cover the cost of a bone marrow transplant. An infant from New York City named Bryan Jones died of a heart defect, a problem which could have been corrected but he was sent away from the hospital along with his mother twenty-four hours after being born.
What Do Canadian, French and U.K. Citizens Get?
They get treated, period. Canadians enjoy universal health care, drugs in a British pharmacy cost next to nothing, and if you are a living in France and in need of medical assistance, you don't have to get to a hospital. The doctor can come to you. They still make house calls.
Pleas for Help Falling on Deaf Ears
Michael Moore interviewed workers and volunteers who assisted with relief efforts after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Debilitating respiratory problems affected these men and women who inhaled large amounts of dust and other airborne debris at the site of the ruined World Trade Centres. One man had ground his teeth down so severely as a result of post-traumatic stress he needed them to be replaced. The response of the HMOs was simply this, treatment denied.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Suspected terrorists who are detained at this U.S. military base receive better care than Americans. Emergency surgery, cancer screening, dental and psychiatric care are available immediately at no cost.
Medical Care in Havana
Cuban doctors listened patiently and with compassion to the stories of the 9/11 volunteers, and were treated right there and then. One of the women with breathing problems got an inhaler for five cents. In the U.S. she would have paid $240 each month for this treatment.
You might be asking yourself how HMOs got started in the first place. If you watch the film pay particular attention to the excerpt regarding Richard Nixon and his ideas about health care.
That'll hurt for sure.
