Comment by Travis Grubbs on July 1, 2007 at 5:54am

Hi Caro:

I plan on seeing Sicko. From what I have heard, and from Michael Moore's interview on Larry King (saw it last night), the movie drives home the point (one of many) that our health care system is a for profit business. Making $ takes priority over paying claims. My doctor bitterly complains about how the insurance companies limits him treating his patients.

Another problem that I see with our health care system, and is ponted out in your post, is unequal care. My mother is on a limited income. Her medical care is provided through medicare and medicaid. She has very few restrictions to receiving healthcare. This coming Tuesday she is getting a new pace maker. My wife and I have health care insurance, but in some ways my mother has better coverage.

In your example of the mother with the sick child, the mother has health care insurance. I beleive this means she is employed some where and probably makes too much money for her child to receive medicare or medicaid (one is for the elderly and I get them confused). If this mother just sat on her butt and did not work, her daughter might have been eligible to be enterred into that hospital under a state insurance plan. In our society, people who try to work and better themselves are penalized.

One more point? Businesses in our society prey on their customers by feeding them un-healthy food, high calorie drinks, etc. Stats show that our population is getting more and more obese. I used to be one of them. The obese are turning to our health care system for treatment. Lots of luck!

Whew! I feel better now.

Comment by Next Dimensions on July 1, 2007 at 12:09pm

Travis is right, the system is wrapped around profit, including the medical education system that gives doctors degrees. The message of this movie is that people need to move as far away from this system of 'health care' as possible. I have been doing it for years; no person in my family goes to any doctors for any reason. The only reason to go is during a trauma event and even then being treated during an emergency within this system is quite bad for those who have the 'wrong insurance'. I believe we can all change how we look at disease and health. We already are changing. This movie is only the beginning. It's a definite wake up call, and like Travis said, the main point is that we are dealing with Profits, from education of doctors down to the patient, which goes against what health should be.

Currently there would be an economic disaster if everyone started getting healthy. We are working within a system that only manages and treats disease symptoms. If we are to become healthy, we must delve into the reasons why the symptoms are there, which is going to require everyone to begin accepting a new form of medicine and healthcare, which are my reasons for joining Ning and talking about my experiences.

Comment by Daena on July 1, 2007 at 8:48pm

sicko sounds like a great film. i'm not sure if it's going to be shown in cinemas here, we have pretty stringent censorship rules (which annoys me sometimes). i hope it comes out on dvd, then i'll watch it. but yeah, i think everyone deserves medical care when needed. there are plenty of government subsidies and schemes for those who are less financially able to pay for their medical bills here. and most people i know here do have health insurance of some form, which is great. it helped my family lots when we paid for my hefty medical bills.

Comment by Kirsten Sigrist on July 2, 2007 at 4:24am

I'm not sure that I can bear to watch Sicko. I'm already a supporter for health insurance reform. Here in MA, we're trying out a mandatory health insurance scheme with subsidies for the lower income brackets. Personally, I would support canadian-style universal health care, but I don't think it will happen that way. I hope the movie sparks more debate in the presidential race.

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