[warning: mini-novel ahead! :) ]
All-righty then. I just watched the new Michael Moore film, SiCKO. If you have seen his other films, go see it.
To be honest, it made me sick, and reminded me why I almost laughed out loud when I was asked if I wanted to move to the US permanently. (my actual, word-for-word, reaction was: “If you move Madison 300 miles north, into Canada, I’ll consider it”. Not so good when sitting over from my grand-boss (now my boss) and one of the high-ups in HR (not sure what his position is) – who are both Americans :) )
Here’s the general premise: Moore is covering the state of US healthcare. For those who dont know, the US has an insurance based health care system – you either have insurance, or you dont. Either way, going to a hospital or doctor etc costs money (a lot of it) – it’s just a matter of who pays. I think some people qualify for free medicaid (a government run insurer), but most working people dont. Something like 35 million people dont have any insurance.
Moore follows around and interviews a bunch of people, all of whom are getting sub-standard care or have become bankrupt because of the health system – and the ones who were bankrupt HAD insurance.
It seams the insurance companies will do anything – ANYTHING – to avoid paying out. If you, for example, have a car accident, and are taken to a hospital in an ambulance, and you have to get the ambulance pre-approved. Not sure HOW you do that, but one woman in the movie found that out the hard way when the insurance refused to cover the ambulance because of no pre-approval after a car crash. If you get cervical cancer at 22, sorry, you are too young to have that cancer – denied (again, in the movie).
He even ended up in Cuba with some 9/11 workers, who can’t get insurance or cover in the US – and the cubans sorted them out. (this after trying to go to Gitmo to get the “same treatment as the detainee’s there get”). The look on the face of the woman who pays $120 per inhaler in the US, when told the same thing in cuba was 3.20 pesos’ (about 5 cents), was both priceless and heart breaking.
Anyway – you can watch the movie for yourself. Please do. It’s excellent – better than BOTH of his other two films. I dont think it’s a controversial film like Fahrenheit 9/11 was, but I think it has way more impact. I hope it shakes up the system.
Hows this for a slightly different perspective. As you may know, I’m traveling in the US at the moment (well, pretty much “living” for the next 40 days, 13 hours… who’s counting? :) ) – so needless to say, we have travel insurance, which covers medical, too. The company in New Zealand – Mike Henry, which I’m told by our broker is very good with payouts – has a little yellow card that I have in my wallet (actually, it was in the safe, but after watching the movie, it’s going in my wallet). It has things on it like my name, policy number, and period of insurance. It has a long list of phone numbers to call if I need help – in most countries it’s a local call, otherwise there is a collect call to NZ. Thats all good. Until I read the other side:
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE (USA ONLY)
If you need to see a Doctor or are to be hospitalized in the USA you must contact IAG NZ Emergency Assist immediately on the 24-hour toll free number (1-800-xxxxxxxx).
If you are the patient: You are enrolled in (name of programme) in the USA. Prior to receiving services or incurring expenses, you should immediately contact IAG (etc). IAG will direct you to the nearest preferred medical provider.
If you are the provider: this traveller is enrolled in the (name) program. Prior to rendering service, call IAG (etc). Failure to call may result in delayed payment to you for your services.
So lets say I’m in a car accident (and I rather hope I’m not). I have to call before I receive any treatment. Seriously. Might be a bit difficult if I’m out cold or something.
In any other country – ANY other country – I would be taken to hospital and it all sorted out later . In the case of NZ, the UK, Cuba and France (and a lot of others, these were three in the movie), there would be no fee AT ALL. In the US, the insurance comes BEFORE the medical treatment.
That is fucked on so many levels.
Hows this for another “side” to it. To get insurance for the US, I’m paying $350 NZ for 3 months (well, Quest is…). To get insurance for the rest of the world for a YEAR costs $150, if I dont go to the US for more than 6 weeks in that year. Needless to say, after we leave at the end of July, we have no intention of traveling in the US (Canada, however, is on the cards), especially if the new laws are bought in around registering travel.
And, on a side note, something else I’ve noticed here: In the US, anyone can lose their job literally overnight. Your boss gets out of bed on the wrong side – see ya! Thats may be an exaggeration (I hope!), but it’s trivial to fire someone, unlike New Zealand. No “one months notice”, no written warnings, nothing. Bye! So (some) people are rather scared of losing their jobs, because with jobs comes health care (which is mostly paid by the companies), and the ability to repay student loans and the like. Not to mention the SUV, plasma TV, 4 bedroom+ houses…
So they accept a few days sick leave (I think it’s 3 or 4), and 2 weeks vacation a year. Dude, if I go on holiday, I’m not even relaxed enough to have a proper holiday after a week, let alone only get two weeks a year!
Contrast that with New Zealand (usually 5 days sick, and 4 weeks minimum vacation), or France (unlimited sick days, 5 weeks minimum vacation, with most people having up to 10, and a 35 hour work week). I think Paris Parfait may be onto something :)
It’s not surprise that Americans have poor health, high infant mortality, and a shorter lifespan – a lot of them seam to be living in fear. One of the stats in the film was that a healthy, retired, rich person in the US has WORSE health than the lowest socio-economic group in the UK.
Another thing, on the same topic: watching TV over here, out of four ads, one is for a drug of some kind – erectile disfunction, depression and sleep being common ones, which are all side effects of stress. One is for a car of some kind (gotta have that new Dodge Nitro!). One is for some form of food, fast or otherwise. And the other one (actually, it’s less than one, but it adds up better) is for something else.
Just dont get me started on the news networks 24 hours of Paris Hilton going back to jail…. now with indepth analysis (except they dont know anything, so it’s not very indepth). The only show I’ve seen with politics – critical or otherwise – is The Daily Show, and that’s ment to be entertainment! (CSPAN doesn’t count – its like watching paint dry, and boring paint at that)
Or Oil, for that matter. $3.30 a gallon is cheap. If you wanna save money, stop buying SUVs and 5.2l, six-wheeled pickup trucks. Jeeeeez.
The longer I spend here, the more the American Dichotomy puzzles me – Americans are, really, very nice people. Warm, friendly, genuine, helpful etc. I like them, even if – with a few exceptions – they have no clue about coffee. But the country and the system is corrupt and broken. They barely have a democracy (while claiming to be the greatest democracy in the world, and trying to push it on others) – the elected representatives (or rather, a lot of them) are funded by the corporations. And the media, which is ment to keep the citizens informed about what the government is doing, is more concerned with a drunk driver who got caught violating parole and was somehow let out because she was “unwell”, than what is going on in government or overseas.
The rest of the world isn’t prefect, but there is no way I’d live here by choice.
“So there, we have figured it out, go back to bed America, your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed America, your government is in control again. Here, here’s American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed America, here’s American Gladiators. Here’s 56 channels of it. Watch these pituitary retards bang their fuckin skulls together and congratulate you on living in the land of freedom. Here you go America, you are free… to do as we tell you. You are free, to do as we tell you.”- the late, great, Bill Hicks, who died at the same age as me.
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