This weekend I managed to watch the Michael Moore movie, “Sicko”.

I say “managed” because it’s not exactly a pleasant experience.
It will, however, be a revelation to some who have not seen it.
And whether you agree with Moore’s political statements or not, it’s a movie that should be seen by anyone concerned with health care for themselves and their families.

I’m sure everyone has had some experience with failure of the system in America. I remember a few years back, when my brother was attacked and beaten with a two-by-four by thugs on his way home one night. Following emergency brain surgery, he was forced to leave Kaiser Permanente just two days later because that was all his insurance would allow, even though his staples and stitches were still swathed in bandages, his hands were uselessly knotted, and his speech was incoherant. He was told to return in “five days or thereabouts” to remove the stitches, and because there was still the ‘nuisance’ of a small clot putting pressure on the left side of his brain.

The film is ironic but honest. And here you’ll find children in the throes of fever-induced seizures being denied treatment…eighty-year old people who can’t retire because it’s the only way they can afford their medication…a woman whose surgical claim was rejected because many years earlier she’d had a simple yeast infection…and patients allowed to die because insurance companies determine what’s too expensive and what’s not.

There are even heroes from 9/11, people who did NOT work for the city but took it upon themselves to rush to the aid of the victims–and who now suffer health problems because of it–who are being denied treatment by the health industry.

If you don’t come away from this film with a little anger—and the feeling it’s WAY past time for healthcare reform in this country—then I can only hope you never contract a very serious illness, or need coverage for a pre-existing condition.

Some of the French and English authorities interviewed believe their national health services are an absolute necessity because the governments are afraid of their people, so they listen to them.

Hmmm…