The entire movie tirades against the American healthcare industry, which is obviously as broken as our judicial system. I agree up to that point, and I also agree that the insurance companies see every health procedure as cash out of their money clips. I don't however think France, England, and Canada have these perfect Utopian societies where everyone loves each other and everything is free. (cue "We Are the World")
Yes, France has a national healthcare system and mandated paid vacation time, they also have a 45% payroll tax and a personal income tax rate up to 50% depending on your tax bracket. It's amazing what information Google can provide, I'm sure Michael Moore knows these numbers, but being that they didn't fit his agenda he didn't deign to include those facts. He spends a chunk of the movie asking random Canadians about their healthcare, and of course those random, mostly healthy people, have received adequate care in a timely matter. If he had stopped to ask someone with a chronic condition, such as NF2, he would find that Canada lacks much of the advanced technology we have here in America. Many Canadians have private insurance secondary to the national insurance which they attempt to use here in the States to receive more modern treatments.
I knew before sitting down to this movie that our healthcare system was broken, my own Mother was denied for necessary procedures multiple times by her HMO. I also knew that sometimes, the system works. Last month my neurologist suggested radiation therapy, and I chose to see another neurologist for a second opinion and then treatment at one of the leading medical universities in the country. I did not pay anything out of pocket, and have America to thank for that. Sometimes, our system isn't so bad, and when it works, we get the most advanced technology there is. On the other hand I have a friend Holly, who's medi-caid wont cover an Auditory Brainstem Implant or a promising chemo drug, even though she is already blind and facing complete deafness. (She has been forced to begin saving money for her own treatment, and has written a book which you can purchase in support here.)
So while I will continue to support the idea of Universal Healthcare for all Americans, I am just unsure of how Michael Moore having Cuban firefighters hug crying 9/11 workers has anything to do with that reality.
3 comments:
I would gladly pay that much in taxes to know that my family, and every other family, are taken care of.
When you add up how much we already pay in taxes (for me, over 1/3) plus the cost of private insurance, it is nearly a wash.
I have met many Canadians, who love and adore their health care. Why do you think thousands of Americans cross the border ever day to seek cheaper medicine? I know some seniors who take a bus over there all the time, just to keep their health care costs down. If they got their medicine here in the states, it would cost them 2k per month, but by going across the border, they are saving so much money!
I have also met many Canadians in my travels, and I had a roommate at Gallaudet that was Canadian. She had a blackout and fainted one day, she was able to be reivied by medical personnel who wanted to take her to the hospital in their ambulance, but she refused to go until she called her insurance provider in Canada to make sure she was covered. As Michael Moore showed, people did buy insurance before coming to America, in fact on vacation in Fort Myers, Florida just this past February, I met a slew of Canadians, who did buy health insurance before even stepping a toe over the border.
In fact Canadians themselves do love their health system, for they recently voted Lester Pearson as the most famous Canadian of the 20th century who created their system, not Wayne Gretzky!
As an American, if I know that my taxes are going to support me and my family in the long run medically, I would be more than happy to hand that money over to the government.
I think Moore did mention and discuss the items you dug up from Google, along with a great deal of other data from a variety of sources.
I also found it laudable to talk to the people directly, presenting many perspectives--AND including people with chronic, severe conditions who basically get penalized for being sick/having the audacity to try and use the safety-net of insurance they had contributed to for decades.
Wouldn't it be great for money to go towards actual care and services that improve life quality for all, rather than towards excessive beauracracy and administrative expenses necessary to enhance a labyrinth aimed at service denial?
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