Sicko

Last night, I saw Michael Moore's most recent documentary called Sicko, about the ways that HMOs and the American health care system are failing Americans every single day. Sicko begins with stories of Americans that are without health care - but Moore quickly tells us that this documentary isn't about the people without health insurance; rather, it's about the people with health insurance. He then devotes the next thirty to forty five minutes visiting with people who were denied health care for themselves or their loved ones because they were deemed not covered under their health care insurance policy. He discusses some of the legislation that has gone on in area of health care reform, and how all of these attempts failed. (Lest you think only Republicans will garner Moore's scorn, he takes a few well-deserved digs at Hillary Clinton as well.) He also discusses the idea of socialized health care, and in the grand tradition of Bowling for Columbine, Moore takes his show on the road. He visits France, Canada and England to talk to patients and doctors in the socialized health care systems in these countries. The movie ends with a dramatic (and probably over-sensationalistic) trip to Cuba with people who helped in the World Trade Center attacks and were then denied proper medical care by the US government for related illnesses (respiratory diseases, post-traumatic stress, and other undisclosed problems).

I feel like it's necessary for me to discuss my feelings about Michael Moore. I love Michael Moore. Ever since my economics teacher my senior year of high school made us all watch Roger and Me, I have eagerly looked forward to each of Michael Moore's movies. Yes, I know he is spreading liberal propoganda - but I'm okay with that, because mostly I agree with him. Yes, he has gotten more and more sensationalistic since his humble Roger and Me beginnings, but his first priority is to entertain and sensationalism sells. And does he skirt around facts sometimes? Oh, sure. But in this day and age, what good media personality doesn't fudge a few facts now and again?

For instance, I know that there was some fast talking about the benefits that new mothers get from the French health care system. Mothers with three or more children get more special favors than those with less because the French government is trying to promote the growth of the natural born French population. I also know that taxes in countries that have socialized health care are far higher than taxes in the United States. He never gave the figure, but for people in the higher income brackets in France, income tax can top out around 58%. I think there are similar figures for Canada and the UK (though I can't be bothered to look it up). Personally, I'm not bothered by that in the slightest, but some of Moore's more moderate viewers would likely pause at that kind of figure. However, not all of Moore's facts are fictionalize, and people from Canada should watch this movie with the smug satisfaction that they will live an average of three years longer than any American. (And Americans looking to go to Canada should look up http://hook-a-canuck.com/.)

All that being said, this movie's message should be non-partisan. Our health care system sucks. It sucks big time. And cancer and the HMOs don't care whether you're a democrat or a republican. They don't care if you're a born again Christian or one of those guys in Berkley whose been sitting in a tree for the last year. Cancer can still get you, and the HMOs will still try to spend the least amount of money possible on your care. And this is the health care system that George Dubya Bush says is, "the best in the world."

I am going to close out this entry with three stories. As anyone who knows me knows, I have traveled a fair amount in the last ten years. I can think of three times I have been seriously ill in the last ten years - once was in the US, once was in Tanzania and once was in Belgium.

Incidence #1 - 2002: I was a senior in college and still covered under my parents' HMO. I woke up one morning with a sore throat. I waited a few days to see if it would go away, and when the condition worsened, I made an appointment to see a doctor. However, in order to see a doctor in this particular HMO, you have to see a nurse practitioner first and get a referral. I saw the NP, she sent me for a throat culture, diagnosed me with strep throat (without seeing the test results) and sent me home with a prescription for omoxycillin. I got a call from the test center a couple of days later saying that I had come up negative for strep throat, but the pills seemed to be working so I ignored the message. 48 hours after the pills ran out, my symptoms came back worse than ever. So, I made a new appointment. I still didn't have a referral, so I had to see another nurse practitioner. She sent me for another strep test, and fast tracked the results. It came up negative. Having two negative strep test in hand, she prescribed me another course of the same antibiotic and sent me on my way. Once that course of treatment was finished, my symptoms came back even worse. I had a fever. It hurt to turn my head. I was feeling numb patches on my face. At that point, I saw a third nurse practitioner who left me in the room while she got advice from an ENT. She diagnosed me with pharyngitis and gave me a course of much stronger antibiotics which finally did the trick. This process took over a month to complete. The total cost was admittedly low - no co-pay to see the NP, so only the cost of the drugs which were subsidized. I think I ended up paying around $30.00 when all was said and done.

Incidence #2 - 2004: On my first trip to Tanzania, I contracted both malaria and giardia at the same time. Yes, it was miserable and yes, I was taking anti-malarials, and yes they were the ones that are 97% effect. I am blessed by being extraordinary in every way. I was uninsured in both America and Tanzania. My doctor's visit was free. My medication was the equivalent of $10 for both ailments. When I left Tanzania, I still felt like I was having residual digestive distress. My consultation with the doctor was $175.00. She ended up not doing any tests at all (because I couldn't afford them) and just wrote me a prescription for a broad spectrum antibiotic based on my description of my symptoms. This cost me another $123.00.

Incidence #3 - 2006: I came down with a horrible flu/food poisoning/something vile in Belgium. At this time, I was insured in the US, but my insurance didn't cover international travel. (As an aside, I am in one of the few graduate programs in the United States that does not provide their students with health care. I paid $500 quarterly for my insurance which did not include any prescription benefits.) The woman I was staying with eventually forced me to see a doctor. She said that they had some kind of "consultation hours" and no appointment was a necessary. I would just have to go and wait my turn. Having spent some long hours in emergency rooms in the past (At different times, I broke both my leg and my arm as a child), I was not looking forward to this. But in under and hour, I was able to see a bonafide doctor. He ran some tests and wrote me a couple of prescriptions. Finally, the dreaded question of insurance came up. Because I was not in Belgium on a visa, I would have to pay for my health care. My doctor visit was 21 euros. The three prescriptions he wrote me (anti-nausea, sleep-aid and some kind of decongestant) were an additional 30 euros.