"Sicko"

Michael Moore's new documentary "Sicko" is due in theaters next Friday.   The movie is an indictment of our broken health care system.  The film maker reviews the problems created by our system of private insurance providers and highlights one of my salient points:  these companies aren't in business to provide you with health care coverage or pay for your care.  They are in business to make a profit.  If you think the "Blues" aren't in this to make money check their "non profit" financial statements sometime.

"Sicko" documents some cases of failed health care.  He concentrates on the profit motivations of denying care to the sick and injured.  He shows how greedy insurance companies don't really care if you get well or receive medical treatment.  Under law their only motivation for being is to make a profit for their owners and shareholders.  If that means denying treatment for a cancer patient so be it.

Health care reform is an issue close to my heart.  I was victimized by one of these corporations (CIGNA) after suffering a serious injury.  The litigation, costs, unpaid medical bills, denial of coverage issues, etc. went on and on for years then they abruptly simply ceased paying for all coverage of my injuries.  The system truly is broken and this is why I'm such a relentless advocate for single payer, universal health care.  I'll be the first to admit I hate insurance companies.  Once they've victimized you when you're least able to deal with their attempts to make you suffer worse you'll understand where I'm coming from on this issue.

You can see a sneak preview of "Sicko" at theaters tomorrow.  Here is a list where it will be available.   Be sure you go see this film and talk about it with those you know.  It's imperative we impose drastic reforms on this industry because people are dying.  I saw a statistic last night that said over 18,000 die every year in this country because they don't have medical insurance.  Others die in spite of having it.  It's a national scandal and Michael Moore exposes it in "Sicko."

Comments

[Joyful Alternative]

Hmm, I had trouble with Cigna, too. One summer a Cigna-insured driver crashed through a brick wall around my yard and then pulverized some of the concrete paving in the yard and cracked the rest. No, he wasn't even slightly injured.
A Cigna insurance adjuster came by 9 days later, after several phone calls, and refused to replace the paving because weeds had begun growing in some of the cracks and therefore it must have been cracked before his insured drove over it.

According to my lawn, a lot of weeds can grow in 9 days.

I've steered clear of Cigna since then, including turning down a job offer, but I'm fortunate my problem with them wasn't as catastrophic as yours.

[dennis g.]

Well, this is an issue that I know much more about than I ever wanted to know.
Sometime ago I was diagnosed with a life threating disease. Although retired (but not old enough for Medicare), I'm fortunate to have very good group insurance through an association I belong to. The premium I pay, while high, is half of what it would be if I had to get "single" coverage.
So the hospital, which has a deal with my insurer, got paid a little over $11,000.00 for treatments (once every three weeks) that were "billed" out at just over $25,000.00 and my cost was ZERO. I will not bore you with additional details, but bills for operations, hospital stays, and testing yielded similar results.
Now I should be thrilled (and I am) that my cost (in addition to my premium), for billings that exceded $200,000.00, was only my $1,000.00 deductable. But one gets to wonder.... If I was not a member of a group, I couldn't afford the great coverage I have, and I would have had to have settled for a lesser policy. If I had done that, my out of pocket expenses would have changed my finacial picture greatly. And, worse yet, if I had no insurance, I would have been responsible for the entire "billed" amount - no discount.
And that's why some people are finacially ruined and others die.
Well, I have news for those in power....all of the people in this country are members of a group and it's called the human race. We deserve a single pay system and if we cut out the "middle man" insurance companies (and the profits they earn), just think what costs might come down to. And as long as we're cutting, how about the drug companies. I'm sick and tired of their excuses about the cost of developing new drugs. That's total bullshit, as most new drugs are actually designed in university labs that were financed by our taxes through grants from the NIH. And while there are costs associated with refining the drug and testing, why do citizens of this country have to pay through the nose, while those in other countries (Canada comes to mind) pay 40% to 80% less.
So anybody who wants my support, and most importantly, my vote, had better come up with a single pay program and get us out of the mess we're in.
dg

[Lee Levan]

Eloquent Dennis. I'm with you.

[Melissa]

Speaking of healthcare, here are two articles detailing the appalling lack of healthcare for our veterans.

The first article discusses a study showing that 1.8 million veterans are without healthcare coverage.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062002161.html

The second article outlines the current lack of mental health care for our military personnel (and includes a link to the DoD report)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-rieckhoff/new-dod-report-we-are-no_b_53275.html

I guess they were supposed to fight King George's war and not expect anything in return....

[John Morgan]

My experiences with CIGNA were so awful my neurologist suggested I write a book about them. I suffered a head injury in 1984. The problem with head injuries is you can't think or function well after suffering them...

CIGNA was the workmans comp carrier for the company where I got injured. It was eight months before I saw my first disability check. It was another eight until I got the second. I only got them because I had to get a lawyer who took them to court.

My lawyers (the first one was killed in a plane accident) repeatedly had to drag CIGNA into court to get them to pay anything. At one point they were cited for contempt for ignoring a court order to pay me my disability. Thankfully I had a very understanding landlord or I'd have been in the street.

This went on for years. Finally I suffered a reinjury directly due to the original injuries and they used that to dump me.

The legal fees they had to pay were unbelievable. It made their costs soar but you cannot get these companies to pay anything unless you sue them. That's one of the huge hidden costs of the present system no one talks about. It's also why trial lawyers (many) are against single payer. The current system is a cash cow for lawyers.