GARGANTUAN steps
Friday, May 16, 2008
sicko
I've just watched finished the latest film by Michael Moore on the American healthcare system and I am truly shocked at the poor standards of healthcare there. Though definitely biased towards all that is wrong with the system, I find it unforgivable that people have lost their lives because they have been refused treatment because they do not have money to pay. It really is ridiculous that your insurance company has to be called first before treatment for a serious, life-threatening condition can begin, and even then, there is a high possibility that you might not receive the treatment.
This is definitely a show that everyone in the health profession should watch - how medicine and the healthcare system should NEVER, EVER be. In America, people pay for their healthcare via insurance. Apparently, after submitting a claim for your medical bill, the health insurance companies might sought out for nitty-gritty details on your form so as to find a reason to deny paying for your medical bills. People have become bankrupt as a result of escalating insurance premiums; someone had to choose between which finger to be reattached after having two of them severed; worst of all, lives have been lost. Doctors have to choose between whose life to save - what happen to the principle of justice? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever had to come to such a situation. One of the most shocking moments on the documentary was when one of the personnel in the higher echelons of the healthcare system came clean about her duty to "use her medical expertise to the financial benefit for the organisation that (she) worked for" and that she was "not denying care but denying (those who could not afford) payment". This really left a sour taste in my mouth and made me despise the supposed democracy that is suppose to exist in America.
The healthcare system was compared to those around the world - Britain and the NHS, the French and the Cubans. Here I am thinking that the NHS was a flawed system because it is in a permanent debt, but the main principle of healthcare, that of maintaining health and life, has never been compromised and I am glad that I am not studying in the states. France has the best healthcare system in the world and the amount of services that the government gives to its people is just astounding - they provide free college education, six months of paid leave after delivery and even a personal nanny during that period of time.
The final bit of the movie was the most shocking bit - Michael Moore brought a group of 9/11 fire-fighters who could not afford healthcare in the very country they were risking their lives for to Cuba and there, they received free healthcare and treatment and the care was really full of love and warmth. I found this really unbelievable and I felt touched that they have such an uncorrupted heath system there, even though they are at odds with America. Even in America, the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay get free healthcare and better treatment than the average American.
Many other fascinating facts appear on this movie and I urge all to watch this film, you will be sufficiently shocked. One final anecdote was that someone who was anti-Michael Moore could not afford to keep up his anti-Michael Moore website lest he could not afford the treatment for his wife's health condition. Michael Moore commented that he had lost his right to free speech as a result, and donated a substantial amount of money to him anonymously. Following that, rather ironically, his anti-Michael Moore website continued to be running.
I really respect Michael Moore for this film - all he wants is for the best for his fellow country-men, and at least he is doing it in the most poignant way ever - non-violence - unlike how the government deals with those against their 'ideas of democracy'.
This is definitely a show that everyone in the health profession should watch - how medicine and the healthcare system should NEVER, EVER be. In America, people pay for their healthcare via insurance. Apparently, after submitting a claim for your medical bill, the health insurance companies might sought out for nitty-gritty details on your form so as to find a reason to deny paying for your medical bills. People have become bankrupt as a result of escalating insurance premiums; someone had to choose between which finger to be reattached after having two of them severed; worst of all, lives have been lost. Doctors have to choose between whose life to save - what happen to the principle of justice? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever had to come to such a situation. One of the most shocking moments on the documentary was when one of the personnel in the higher echelons of the healthcare system came clean about her duty to "use her medical expertise to the financial benefit for the organisation that (she) worked for" and that she was "not denying care but denying (those who could not afford) payment". This really left a sour taste in my mouth and made me despise the supposed democracy that is suppose to exist in America.
The healthcare system was compared to those around the world - Britain and the NHS, the French and the Cubans. Here I am thinking that the NHS was a flawed system because it is in a permanent debt, but the main principle of healthcare, that of maintaining health and life, has never been compromised and I am glad that I am not studying in the states. France has the best healthcare system in the world and the amount of services that the government gives to its people is just astounding - they provide free college education, six months of paid leave after delivery and even a personal nanny during that period of time.
The final bit of the movie was the most shocking bit - Michael Moore brought a group of 9/11 fire-fighters who could not afford healthcare in the very country they were risking their lives for to Cuba and there, they received free healthcare and treatment and the care was really full of love and warmth. I found this really unbelievable and I felt touched that they have such an uncorrupted heath system there, even though they are at odds with America. Even in America, the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay get free healthcare and better treatment than the average American.
Many other fascinating facts appear on this movie and I urge all to watch this film, you will be sufficiently shocked. One final anecdote was that someone who was anti-Michael Moore could not afford to keep up his anti-Michael Moore website lest he could not afford the treatment for his wife's health condition. Michael Moore commented that he had lost his right to free speech as a result, and donated a substantial amount of money to him anonymously. Following that, rather ironically, his anti-Michael Moore website continued to be running.
I really respect Michael Moore for this film - all he wants is for the best for his fellow country-men, and at least he is doing it in the most poignant way ever - non-violence - unlike how the government deals with those against their 'ideas of democracy'.
Labels: Film, Healthcare, Medicine
