Michael Moore's Movie "Sicko" Raises Concerns about Insurance Issues

[jillio]

I have contact also with England, Canada, also Greece, Australia, and New Zealand. Not ONE has ever complained of waits. I live in Florida, have amazing insurance, and I have to wait often for appointments. 3-4 weeks for my ob/gyn, 2 weeks for my son's allergist, I make my kids check up 2 months in advance because last time I didn't I had to wait 1 month. When I had strep throat my doctor could NOT see me that day. Luckily, after driving around all day trying to find an open clinic that takes my insurance, I found one. Had to wait 2 hours to be seen. All for something that would take 5 seconds to diagnose.

My husband is Greek. He has many relatives who live in Canada and Greece. His aunt and uncle own homes in all three places (and are considered citizens in Greece and Canada not sure if they are here), and pay for health insurance here in the US. They NEVER see a doctor here, NEVER. It's always Greece or Canada. My Father-in-law who has had 3 heart attacks, has NO qualms about staying in Greece 4 months a year on a little tiny island. My friend in Canada had to wait a whole...gasp...2 months for gastric bypass surgery.

As for Cuba, you are wrong, they DO have a much better health care system than we do. They send doctors all over the world (who don't defect). Cubans swim to Florida for all sorts of reasons, but I doubt lack of medical care is one of them. We rank below Cuba in every medical/health area according to WHO. If America's health care system is so wonderful, why don't we see world citizens with socialized medicine in an uproar because they don't have it? Why is Paris not burning for profit driven health care?

I lived in Minnesota and North Dakota until I was 18. I have never met a Canadian who came here for medical care, not because of lack of a specialist or because of waits. Not saying it doesn't happen but you DO know we have many Americans going to India and Mexico for health care. It started as cheap plastic surgery offers, and then grew into hip replacements, heart valves, etc. American companies are finding it cheaper to send their employees to freaking India instead of having the insurance cover a surgery.

I don't want our government forcing coverage (I'm ASSuming you mean health insurance) either. I want insurance companies OUT OF BUSINESS in regards to health. Medicare has a MUCH lower overhead (3% compared to 11% for insurance companies, and 1.7% for Canada). My insurance refuses to cover CI (i don't want them, but still), but according to many on this site, if I can get on medicare CIs would be paid for.

Here is the website for WHO WHO | World Health Organization

To check another site, here is the CIA World Fact Book. You can look up all sorts of stats and compare countries for yourself.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

 

[jillio]

I really don't think I was extreme in my perspective of the Canadian system, if you NEED care you get care. If what ever ails you at the moment won't kill you may have to wait (like my friend with the gastric bypass surgery....she did have to wait 3 months, and lives in Montreal, as do most of my husbands Greek-Canadian relatives).

It's really no different here. In the rural areas the access to care isn't as good as in the more populated areas. I live near Tampa, and I am ALWAYS waiting for an appointment, never over 2 months though. The same can be said for surgery. I needed a cyst removed, had to make an appointment to reserve an OR for 2 months later. By then the cyst had shrunk and the surgeon did not want to operate. 6 months later it happened again. Luckily I have had no problems with it and will just leave it alone. Also, luckily I have a small dedectible, as the visit to the doctor for this cyst was over $1000, that was just the freaking visit! My deductible was met through that visit alone.

Here people DO die from treatable illnesses because they either don't have insurance or can't afford the out of pocket deductibles (which is what a large part of bankruptcies are blamed on). We have the lowest infant mortality rates and the shortest life expectancy compared to all other industrialized nations, yet we pay the most for health care. Yet we are brainwashed into believing "USA #1 in health care". We may have great doctors, nurses (haha, they are working their tired asses off because of profit driven health care), and facilities, but what does that mean when 45 million Americans have no access to them (except the ER)? What about the many insured Americans with outrageous deductibles and co-pays?

Health care in hte U.S. has been placed in the same category as purchase of a luxury item--care is based on income level. To deny basic medical care to an individual based ion income or employment status further stratifies an already stratified society, and creates an attitude of acceptance toward discriminatory and inhumane treatment of the individual based on superficial characteristics.

 

[jillio]

Whether Moore is a liar is beside the point. He is a manipulative purveyor of propaganda. He attempts to use people's emotions against them in the worst possible way. He uses the pain and suffering of innocent victims in order to sell far-fetched ideas and worse to rake in money. He misrepresents his sources and those he interviews.

I'm all for government policies, and American involvement in the world. But Moore is on par with Jerry Springer. We'd be better off not considering his input.

My two cents.

He makes one look at the pain and suffering that most would rather not see and would choose to ignore and deny were they not forced to see.

 

[jillio]

Excellent point............A lot of conservatives think that privatizing things automaticly improves things. But there has been privatizing of things like school administration, prisons, healthcare etc............but there hasn't been an increase in quality of services, or even a "streamlining" in delivery of services.


You're VERY lucky in that area.

Yeah I've always wondered that.............Yes, the government isn't exactly efficent and cost effective, but then again private economy isn't always efficent and cost effective.

Because it is profit based. Attempts at efficiency and improvement are always seen from a bottom line financial perspective. Quality of service is secondary.

 

[Deafilmedia]

I have seen the movie today... even tho I have some hearing problem...

But Canada, France, London, and Cuba... the government there pay
everything and patients don't have to pay hospital bills, medicine, and x-ray.
You can get free dental, cleaning and new teeth (denture)... all free.

Michael Moore sent the sick Americans to Cuba... and Cuba doctors
treated Americans for free.

Cubans who fled from Cuba to Florida.... were rich Cubans...
These rich Cubans came to USA illegal, so that they can become
Americans and want to do what our crooked Health Insurance providers
and our crooked Doctors... to make money off of poor people like us.


USA has a CROOKED HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDERS AND CROOKED DOCTORS.

France, it costs $2 a month for children day care.

And you can take 15 days for sick leave and extra days for vacation and
still get job benefits.

Doctors in France still make good money and live comfortable....
million dollar homes and all.... the Government pay doctors and hospital bills.

It costs $1 for an asthma inhaler spray in Cuba... but
in USA, it costs $120. We got a crooked Pharmacy.

And you know what else? CASTRO IS NOT A BAD PERSON AT ALL.


WE NEED TO VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON...
did you know that health insurance companies pay her to SHUT THE HELL UP about UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE?

Don't you know that we can go to CANADA and get FREE FREE FREE
MEDICAL... if you get Cancer, you can go to CANADA or CUBA or EUROPE
and take advantage of these free free free MEDICAL....

You know how Government pay for their HEALTHCARE...

Simply.... from TAXES.... from workers.....

And plus, if you don't have a job.... still you get FREE HEALTHCARE!!!!

Why USA doesn't do that?

WE NEED TO PROTEST, CAUSE WE DESERVE BETTER!!!!

 

[akoutsourais]

WE NEED TO VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON...
did you know that health insurance companies pay her to SHUT THE HELL UP about UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE?

It's late, so I may not be reading this right.

If you want universal health coverage (which means insurance companies are still involved, still deciding what is covered and what isn't, still making a profit off you) then vote for Hilary.

If you want Universal Health CARE (which is also called "one payer system" or "socialized medicine") please vote for Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich and Gravel are the only Dems advocating for a real change in ALL areas. Call you congressperson and demand that they support Kucinich's HR 676.

Kucinich for President 2008

Gravel 2008 | 2008 Presidential Candidate: Senator Mike Gravel

 

[Nesmuth]

LTHF is a wonderful organization. Yet they focus too much on the CI than exploring into newer areas of hearing loss mitigation.

I happen to serve on the UCI's stem cell PAC as a person representing the hearing impaired community. I've helped UCI win tens of millions of dollars in grants for stem cell research. Come July 12 we have a meeting and posh party at a high end restaurant.

Bone marrow stem cells have been very good at repairing the hearing loss as quickly as 45 days from the start of treatment.

Richard

 

[LTHFAdvocate]

I appreciate you thinking we are a wonderful organization (I agree with you on that one) but not quite sure how you think we should explore newer areas of hearing loss mitigation.

For my role as the director of the advocacy program, we are providing support for hearing impaired individuals who want insurance denials overturned. Over 95 % of our current appeals caseload is for other clinics all over the country, NOT for LTHF. Therefore, we are supporting their choices that hearing impaired individuals have made with their providers, we aren't their providers and we weren't involved in the choices being made. When the bone marrow stem cell treatment you refer to below becomes approved by the FDA, and insurers balk at covering it, I suspect our program will likely fight for coverage for that form of treatment as well, regardless of whether or not we're one of the clinics capable of providing that treatment.

Secondly, only 70 % of our appeals involve CIs, 30 % involve people who aren't now and likely won't ever be CI candidates, but still have a level of hearing loss that they wish to be treated where the insurer has said no.

Finally, while we do participate in clinical trials and conduct some research, we are not primarily a research organization. We don't have geneticists or biomedical engineers on staff, nor do we have the type of facility necessary to do stem cell research.

Sheri

LTHF is a wonderful organization. Yet they focus too much on the CI than exploring into newer areas of hearing loss mitigation.

I happen to serve on the UCI's stem cell PAC as a person representing the hearing impaired community. I've helped UCI win tens of millions of dollars in grants for stem cell research. Come July 12 we have a meeting and posh party at a high end restaurant.

Bone marrow stem cells have been very good at repairing the hearing loss as quickly as 45 days from the start of treatment.

Richard

 

[Deafilmedia]

It's late, so I may not be reading this right.

If you want universal health coverage (which means insurance companies are still involved, still deciding what is covered and what isn't, still making a profit off you) then vote for Hilary.

If you want Universal Health CARE (which is also called "one payer system" or "socialized medicine") please vote for Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich and Gravel are the only Dems advocating for a real change in ALL areas. Call you congressperson and demand that they support Kucinich's HR 676.

Kucinich for President 2008

Gravel 2008 | 2008 Presidential Candidate: Senator Mike Gravel

I don't know Kucinich and Gravel... but I think we people should protest and get rid of Health Insurance, HMO and corrupt doctors.

 

[deafdyke]

I've helped UCI win tens of millions of dollars in grants for stem cell research. Come July 12 we have a meeting and posh party at a high end restaurant.

Bone marrow stem cells have been very good at repairing the hearing loss as quickly as 45 days from the start of treatment.

Richard, stem cell treatment is still very Holy Grailish...........I don't deny that prolly a lot of late deafend and Iraq vets have regained their hearing, but that's not to say that it's gonna work well for everyone.
I know too, that the FDA is NEVER going to approve it, since its pretty much under the control of healthcare companies. Healthcare companies make TONS of money off of hearing aids and CIs.......how the hell are they gonna reap the money they make from
And yes, I know that its a big thing.......but so fucking what? Many folks who were parlyzed in accicdents were told that a "cure" was just around the corner............Gee, gosh a fuckingrootie.........we still have a ton of parlayzed folks out there.
Besides, hearing loss is just such a relatively mild disabilty.........I really think that all the hype about stem cells isn't going to translate to reality.
Back in the 70's, the hot thing was chiropratic treatments to cure dhh kids. Gee, don't really hear all that much about it now do you?
Oh, and I sometimes wonder if oralism would be so pushed, if it wasn't so profitable.
Also, just b/c the particular organ is "repaired" it doesn't mean that the person wil be able to use it.

 

[jillio]

Jillio,

I agree with you. However, my audi thought my chances for success with a CI were quite good given the fact I've had over 20 years of auditory memory. Aside from that, I doubt Medicaid or Medicare would have paid for transpositional aids.

In regards to my own impressions about my possible success with a CI, I was a little worried about the fact that I would be unable to rely on visual clues to help me understand what I was hearing with my CI. Interestingly enough, I found the transition to be easier than I thought.

My audi and I had a discussion several months after my first CI was activated in which she asked me what I attributed my success to. We both agreed that my blindness played a positive role for several reasons:

1.) All I had to rely on was the input I received from my CI.

2.) I couldn't rely on lipreading or other visual clues to help me understand what I was hearing with my CI.

3.) As someone who was born blind, I already knew how to use my hearing for mobility and activities of daily living, so learning how to hear with my CI came naturally.

Absolutely in agreement. And 20 years of auditory memory is definately a benefit. I'm glad you found the transition so smooth. Just a rhetorical question here. Since you had auditory memory, we can assume that eased your trasition. But, having been born blind, had it been sight that was being given through an implantation, having had no visual memory, do you think the transition would have been as smooth?