"Michael Moore's 'Sicko' confronts American public"

[in_cog_ni_to]

Michael Moore's 'Sicko' confronts American public
The filmmaker's latest documentary asks why Americans don't demand better healthcare.
By John Horn, Times Staff Writer

<snip>
I don't have to convince the American public that there is something wrong with our health care system. I think most American people already feel that way," said Moore, who enjoys great coverage himself through the Directors Guild of America. "That's why I don't spend a lot of time in the film on the healthcare horror stories. I wanted to propose that there's a different way we can go with this. I'm hoping that the American people, when they see this film, will say, 'You know, there is a better way, and maybe we should look at what they are doing in some of these other countries..."

In a choice that certainly endeared "Sicko" to the local audience, Moore spends much of the film focusing on France's socialized medicine. Doctors lead comfortable lives, patients receive attentive care, employers grant extended health-related leaves -- all reasons the World Health Organization ranked France tops in its global 2000 survey of the best healthcare countries.

That the United States ranked only 37th on the WHO list, just two slots ahead of Cuba, particularly infuriates Moore: With more wealth and technology than any other country, we nevertheless have 50 million citizens without insurance, 9 million of them children. As "Sicko" anecdotally documents, many Americans eligible for insurance can't afford it, and a long inventory of preexisting conditions limits the insurability of those who can.<snip>

Among "Sicko's" villains are politicians who pocket millions from HMOs and pharmaceuticals while denouncing universal care as little better than a Communist plot. The film is particularly tough on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D.-N.Y.), once an advocate for universal care and now among the healthcare industry's biggest money recipients. (Moore says "Sicko" distributor Harvey Weinstein, a longtime friend and supporter of the Clintons, asked him to cut the sequence, but he refused.) To highlight the shortcomings of U.S. healthcare, Moore at one point in his film focuses on the plight of several chronically ill Sept. 11 rescue volunteers. Convinced that enemy combatant detainees receive better care in Guantanamo Bay than these national heroes do in the United States, Moore and the volunteers take a boat to Cuba. Despite its poverty, Moore says, Cuba's healthcare system is a model for the Third World.<snip>

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-moore21may21,1,2729792.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews&track=crosspromo

[L. Coyote]

1. How well does he cover the FRAUD? = BILKING BILLIONS

30 U.S. attorneys investigate BILKING BILLIONS, Medicare, Medicaid, Military’s Healthcare
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x877011

Topics:
How is it that $$ BILLIONS $$ of fraud does not put CEOs in jail?
How is it that $$ BILLIONS $$ of fraud cases seem to evaporate or settle for so little?
How were those $$ BILLIONS $$ in lobbying by single industries spent? Where do those bucks STOP?

".... HCA's "fraud investigation involved 30 U.S. attorneys' offices, 22 FBI field offices, inspectors general from the Health and Human Service Department and the Office of Personnel Management, Defense Department investigators and state fraud unit....s"

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. I don't know, but I sure as hell hope he exposes that crap in this movie!

There MUST be something in there the criminals in power don't want seen. Otherwise, they wouldn't be 'investigating' Moore.:) He must expose something OR the regime FEARS he will. We shall see.

[eridani]

3. So, why don't they have very much fraud in Canada?

The answer is global budgeting, which sets capital and operating budgets on a regional basis. If you are a provider and try to cheat the system, you take money directly out of the pockets of your colleagues, who will tend to notice and object strenuously.

Controlling health care costs is analogous to controlling the movements of a herd of cattle. You can do it the way Canada does--put a fence around them and allow them to move freely within its confines, or you can do it the way we do it--hire a bunch of cowboys with sets of reins attached to each individual cow.

[Stephanie]

4. Is Andy in it?

Does anyone know?

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. I haven't heard. I sure hope so! We also had another DUer who was interviewed by him for the movie.

Can't remember who it was though. I remember her post about it though.:) I don't know if she's in it either. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Andy made it in the movie?

[wicket]

6. I can't wait to see it!

Moore has got wonerful timing btw :)