Sicko--SEE IT!!!! NOW!!!

If you care about your health

Sicko is all it's cracked up to be, an indictment of
the misguided values of American society, where
the dollar is primary, people be damned.
Of course, the negative critiques have started, like
" Moore's 'Sicko' Gives Accused Little Say,"
written for AP by Linda A. Johnson of Trenton, N.J.
First of all, the "accused," i.e. the insurance and
pharmaceutical industries have had ALL the say
for far too long.
This is not a debate!
Johnson challenges Moore's portrayal of the
Canadianand British systems, citing sources that
allege longer wait times for care. Sounds as if
she's not been in a US emergency room lately.

Fortuitously (or not), I had the opportunity
to sample the Canadian system two weeks ago,
when, during a trip to Niagara Falls, I woke up
with a UTI. Went to a walk-in-clinic, paid $75
(flat visit fee),saw a very pleasant doc after 45
minutes waiting amongst a delightful
group of Canadians waiting patiently. Got a
scrip for a ceclor equivalent for a quarter of what
it costs here, and was on my way with the good
wishes of the staff. In January, I had a bit more
serious infection and had to go to an ER here
in NJ. I waited, febrile and in pain, for more than
two hours to get seen. No culture was done.
They started an IV of the antibiotic that
"kills everything," and the bill came to
@ $1500 plus over $100 for a scrip. The only
difference was the IV, which required that I
lie on a bed for an hour or so, that and a tuna
sandwich. Might a less potent and expensive
drug have been used? We'll never know, or
maybe we might if I develop a resistance to it.
I'll settle for the no-frills Canadian plan any day.
Of course, it took over a month to straighten out
the bill from the ER billing service.
That's what we pay for.

Moore is a quintessential populist story teller.

How have we allowed ourselves to be screwed
over by greedy, self-serving fear-mongers for so
long? What's going to make us give up the illusion
that Paris Hilton lives the good life for which we
should strive? What's wrong with
a society that sanctifies the IPhone but
lets people die needlessly?

(and by the way, how did I learn that, but
using Paris and IPhone, I'd get a
better Google ranking?) Sicko indeed.