I finally watched Sicko, and I'm sorry that I waited this long to see it...

[NNguyenMD]

I had some reservations about watching it when it first came out last summer. I had just graduated from medical school, and was actually starting my internship year at one of the big county hospitals mentioned in the movie (not Kaiser Permanente). My thought at that time was that it would dump the blame squarely on greedy doctors, and neglect to show the ones who work knee deep in these horribly underserved communities full of people without even the slightest trace of primary care.

I am sorry and ashamed that I fell for the MSM scam of being so skeptical of Moore. If anything, I don't think that he was hard enough on the cabal of physicians who have become the whores of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Physicians have not taken a strong enough stand to demand universal coverage, too many of us have been brainwashed by the AMA and MSM during med school.

His film put a face on what has become the perversion of the healthcare industry today. My hospital deals almost exclusively with uninsured county patients, and everyday that I am at work I wonder for how much longer will this crime against the American people continue. I stand in solidarity with Michael Moore and everyone else who is fighting for universal healthcare.

[Cleita]

1. Thanks for that and maybe you and your colleagues can become

instruments for change. Moore only touched the tip of our dismal health care problems. You know in California, single payer universal health care legislation, SB 840, was passed by both houses of our legislature only to be vetoed by Arnold Schwarzenegger who offered his plan which the health insurers, HMOs and PHRMA wrote for him. No special interests there? Interestingly enough the plans offered by our candidates other than Dennis Kucinich are very similar. I believe if health care providers in California get behind the original bill SB 840 and forced Ahnold to change his mind, it would be the beginning of a national health care plan.

[Delphinus]

16. And HR 676 (Medicare for All)

California might lead the way!

[nuxvomica]

2. What's most effective, IMHO, are the scenes in foreign countries

Showing people how bad things are for them is one thing but showing them that there's actually some tested solutions out there can be mind-changing. The visit with American ex-pats in France was a revelation.

[Delphinus]

17. What got me most

was when (paraphrasing here) someone said something about taking care of the patient - this was in England. I almost cried with that - when it was the person that was most important.

[truedelphi]

3. It is truly a perversion and it will continue.

Every insurer in the country spends a great deal on advertising in the newspapers and on the TV and radio.

Why? you may ask. After all, many of us don't have a choice about health insurance - there may only be one hospital in the area, and we need to get the insurance that will let us get in the door there. Or our employers may cover us, and they choose the policy.

But that ad revenue keeps the media in line. They won't speak out and take the side of the people - all the people - even those who are covered and think their health will be taken care of, but who then find out the health insurer is not going to pay for whatever procedures they really need.

Right now, some of the CEO's at major health maintenance organizations rake in a salary equivalent to that of all 2200 employees of a mid-sized hospital!! These executives plan on keeping their spot at the trough.

[nuxvomica]

4. Thanks for explaining why all the health insurance advertising

I had never considered that angle.

[muffin1]

5. "Sicko" is a real eye-opener, isn't it?

The fact that we let people die in the richest country in the world, because they can't afford to pay is criminal.

[hlthe2b]

6. Please, Please, Please get as many colleagues as possible

to view it...

I suspect you are not alone in your hesitancy. In needs to be seen by everyone in the health care and public health communities..... Strike that. It needs to be seen by EVERYONE-period.

[muffin1]

7. I work in a DVD rental store.

I recommend it constantly. Customers are usually quite hesitant to rent it, but once they do, they are outraged. Why has this not gotten more attention? Every freaking civilized country in the world has universal health care, but WE allow it to be dismissed as "socialized medicine".
:wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

[Mojorabbit]

8. My husband is a family physician

and he was ready to move to Europe after watching the movie. We were both outraged after watching it.
He so wants universal single payor health care in this country.

[Delphinus]

18. I'm ready to move to Europe

just so I can have it!

[antigop]

9. Frontline did an excellent piece on "Sick around the world"

It discussed several healthcare systems in different countries.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

The transcript is available for download:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/etc/tapes.html

[slipslidingaway]

19. YES, everyone should watch that piece along with the extended

interview with Congressman Kucinich, each section is about 30 minutes.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=385&topic_id=50402

[devilgrrl]

10. I wonder if this person ever got around to writing a review.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1276609

:popcorn:

[undeterred]

11. Sign the Healthcare not Warfare petition!

https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/309/personal2.asp?formid=healthpet

We call on members of Congress to bring the troops home from Iraq and to pass H.R. 676, Rep. John Conyers' bill which guarantees comprehensive publicly-funded, privately-delivered health care for everyone in the U.S.

[eridani]

12. Now that you're a doctor--join Physicians for National Health Care

http://www.pnhp.org/

[RedEarth]

13. You might have an interest in joining PNHP

vision and principles of a single-payer health system for the United States. The document was composed by a distinguished group of physician leaders*, and secured the endorsement of 8,000 physicians by the time of its publication in the August 13, 2003 JAMA.

The text outlines the general structure of the single-payer plan: eligibility and coverage, physician and outpatient care payment, global budgeting of hospitals, the establishment of a national long-term care program, planned capital investment and single-payer financing.

http://www.pnhp.org/single_payer_resources/physicians_proposal_intro.php

http://www.pnhp.org/

Single-Payer National Health Insurance

Single-payer national health insurance is a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private.

Currently, the U.S. health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate. Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations ($7,129 per capita), the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality and immunization rates. Moreover, the other advanced nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while the U.S. leaves 47 million completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered.

http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single_payer_resources.php

[earth mom]

14. I think I remember arguing with you about how f*cked up our medical system is in this country.

Glad you can see the light.

[marions ghost]

15. thanks for coming around!

we need the doctors on our side.:thumbsup: