Introduction
The movie ‘Sicko’ by Michael Moore is an attempt to highlight the prevalent Health care system of America. In the movies, Moore focuses on some of the people who have been failed by the Health-Care industry.
Main text
The movie, which is actually a documentary, begins by outlining the lives of some of the ordinary American citizens, the lives of whom have been devastated and upset by health care system. Moore depicts several instances of people among which there is a person who lost his two fingers with a power saw and realizes that it would need twelve-thousand dollars to save one and sixty-thousand dollars to save the other. The man had no health insurance, so could only save one finger.
The plight of another woman is shown who needed money from the insurance company to buy drugs for her husband who had cancer; the insurance money did not pay for the drugs as the drugs were experimental and ultimately the husband died.
Another woman’s bad experience with her insurance company is when she learns that her insurance company would not be recompensed her ambulance expenses for taking her to the hospital as it was necessary to be “pre-approved” by the company.
The terrible plight of a middle-aged couple is shown by Moore, where the husband had endured three heart attacks and the wife had developed cancer; in spite of being insured had to face bankruptcy due to the innumerable expenses they had to bear as the company wouldn’t cover all their costs. They had to ultimately move in with a bitter son into a small cramped room.
A seventy-nine-year-old man has limited prospects of work and has to continue with unskilled job because Medicare refused to cover all his required medications.
Moore deftly draws attention to all these stories which enrage and sicken the viewer regarding the approach of the health care organizations in the United States.
Moore has successfully highlighted the problems of the health maintenance companies of America. He articulately debates that even when people pay their health insurance, most of the benefits cannot be availed by them due to the unforeseen circumstances. Moore also argues that while other nations like France, Britain and Canada offer superior health care services to their natives, why should the citizens of the U.S. be charged to avail of health care services? Moore whisks his audience to these countries and in the movie illustrates the clean, efficient and humane treatment meted out to the citizens by the health care giants.
However, the depiction of the health care system in Moore’s documentary tends to be sometimes unreal, when he over conceptualizes the potential risks to innumerable citizens of the US, due to the failing health care system of America.
The final blow to the health care system in the movie by Moore comes from the depiction of the catastrophe of the 9/11 group of rescue workers, sufferers of devastating diseases, were denied medical care and treatment in the United States of America. upon refusal. Moore takes them to Cuba, where, the victims received care and the required attention from the health care sector. This serves as the concluding blow by Moore to the inhumane practices of the health care sector and services of America.
The entire issue and paradox of the healthcare system of America are that in terms of technology, research and medicine, America is a leader. The United States is also second to none when it comes to the excellent reimbursements it offers to doctors, thereby attracting the best from all over the world. The irony lies in the fact that these services cannot be availed by the millions of American citizens. After all, America is undoubtedly the richest nation in the world. In spite of this, the citizens of the country have to bear much when it comes to the most crucial stages of their lives, medical health care facilities at the time when they need it the most. For those who do not take insurance there can be some reason, but in many cases, as pointed by Moore in the movie, ‘Sicko’, people have to suffer, even when they have paid religiously to their insurance companies. The inhumanity depicted by the health care insurance companies, is indeed horrific.
There is a terrible imbalance between the privileged and the underprivileged regarding their access to health care services in the country. In a country that fights and screams for issues of human rights, it is indeed a curse when the most essential services fail in providing timely help in times of crisis. This brings to light the sole purpose of insurance companies to run the system merely for the sake of profits, rendering them not only inefficient but also dehumanizing. What is even more surprising is the fact that the American government spends double the amount of France and more than double of Britain, on health care per person. Despite this it fails miserably in every aspect of healthcare services to its citizens, whether it is infant mortality, old age health care or persons afflicted with deadly diseases.
Summary
It is high time that the world’s strongest and most powerful nation takes a look at the prevalent healthcare system and regulates it for the betterment of the people.