Cindy and I saw Michael Moore's new film, "Sicko" yesterday. I was a little hesitant at first feeling like I didn't want to be depressed or angry on a day when I was supposed to be relaxing, but weighing the other options (fantastic four, knocked up, live free and die hard), I figured it couldn't be that bad. With Cindy heading into the far-flung Medical industry shortly, it just seemed to make sense that we understand the current problems in health care. Also, with Mateyo on the way, interacting with the Medical industry is something we just can't avoid.
The film turned out to be quite entertaining, heart-warming, and did succeed in getting me somewhat depressed and angry, but I guess in a good way. It was definitely the typical world that Michael Moore is good at portraying, one in which the government and corporations fiendishly exploit the American people for profit, while other countries' views on health care are lauded with rose-tinted glasses. The thing that really got to me though was the earnest portrayal of peoples' stories, most who were cheated by the health care industry in some shape or form. One thing Michael Moore is never recognized for is his ability to get unguarded, honest testimonies from people of all walks of life. I could relate to all their stories, especially with the horrible accounts of neglect at places like King-Drew medical center and others.
My one health story happened a week before Cindy and I were married. I came down with a case of strep throat, and since I had just moved down from the Bay area, was working freelance and had yet to buy health insurance. I figured I'd do what every person without insurance does and head down to the county hospital in Pacoima to get checked out. I knew all I needed was a bottle of penicllin --- 6 hours of processing, a 10-min check-up, and $10 later, that's what I got. A month after my honeymoon, the bill came...$350.
What I also took out of it is that you can blame the hospitals all you want for not taking care of the torrents of uninsured patients at their doorstep, but what it really comes down to is the motivation that a lot of these hospitals are driven by. As opposed to Britain for example, which pays their doctors more when their patients are healthier (ie. bonuses for helping patients stop smoking, lower cholesterol), health insurers like Humana, Cigna, and Blue Cross get incentives to "refuse payment for care" in order to make their private corporations more money.
Hmm...refusing care to make more money....doesn't sound like a good formula for health, but a great one for business.
I urge everyone to watch this movie and check it out. The picture I placed up above is from a Havana clinic in Cuba. Moore takes several ailing 911-rescue workers to a similar clinic in order to get them the health care they just couldn't afford in the States. The last I heard, the U.S. government was threatening to put Moore in jail for violating our sacred trade embargo. It makes sense that finding a system that actually help people would wind up being illegal, let's hope that we can make a change in this country for the better and show the cronies in power that you don't have to be rich to be treated like a human being.
By the way, there's a
bill in the California Senate that might be interesting for those who want to
know more.
400 years,
laks
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