Concerned Senior beat me to the punch. I planned on writing a blog about Sicko after I saw it this past Saturday. Michael Moore did it again–his expose of how screwed up our medical system is in this movie hits the nail on the head. A health care system based solely for profit is set up as a system for winners and losers, and for the losers, an untimely death can be the outcome.
Not that I believe everyone in the health care industry has been corrupted by the love of money, but the insurance companies certainly have been. This is one of the strong points in this film.
There are some wonderful people in the health care business, especially the nurses and their strong, politically active union, who are on the front lines everyday and have a great understanding of how patient care is sacrificed for profit.
It is important for all Americans to realize that we are the only post-industrial, western society that doesn’t view health care as a basic human right. Once again, this is because the big corporate, health care companies (who by the way own our Congress), have too much to lose if we were to overthrow the system.
As a union leader, many people don’t understand that in my industry, construction, our union contractors pay $4.95 per hour per employee to insure our members. Could you imagine how much easier negotiations would be for us if we didn’t have to bargain health care. That $4.95 per hour could actually be put on our members’ checks. At least in our industry, we have employers who want to offer health care and pensions to their workers.
We have to ask ourselves as a nation, what is more important: human life? or money? Right now, too many people say it is money.
If you haven’t seen Sicko, please go see it because more Americans need to be outraged about what is happening to the American people, and if the bulk of Americans continue to choose to keep their heads buried in the sand, the situation will not improve anytime soon.
As a nation, we need to act soon .