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HEALTH CARE MODEL
   Michael Moore has a suggestion to help California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger bring universal health care to the nation’s largest state: Just do it the Austrian way.
   “I would like Gov. Schwarzenegger to say that he wants the citizens of California to have the same, fi ne, universal health coverage he got as a young man in the country of Austria,” Moore said Tuesday of the Austrian-born governor.
   “That’s all we’re asking for, governor. Just give us the Austrian plan,” Moore said at a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall for supporters of universal health care. “That great Austrian health care system that provided you with that fine body that you brought to this great country.”
   With his health-care documentary “Sicko” opening nationwide Friday, Moore accompanied his advice with a few kind words for Schwarzenegger, who has proposed a plan to extend health-care coverage to most uninsured Californians and require all residents to carry insurance.
   “I’ll say this for the governor,” Moore said. “At least unlike many Republicans, he’s willing to recognize there’s a problem. When you’re willing to state there’s a problem, what’s the old cliche? You’re 50 percent of the way there.
   “Now we have to help him come up with the right solution, and the right solution is not to mandate health care and to put the burden on the average working person, who’s already overburdened.”

http://www.timesunion.com

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'Sicko' a tonic to caregivers
Albany Med doctors, nurses, medical students drawn to Michael Moore's latest documentary  
  
By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, June 28, 2007

ALBANY -- Doctors and nurses will don their white coats and scrubs this week to go to the movies. The release of Michael Moore's "Sicko,'' a documentary-style movie about the nation's ailing health care system, has some people in the health care community hoping for cinematic magic, much like the jolt that Al Gore's Oscar-winning "Inconvenient Truth'' gave global warming.
  

Several groups of doctors and nurses attended a screening of "Sicko'' at the Spectrum Theater on Wednesday night, and three dozen Albany Medical College students in their short white lab coats are going to the nationwide opening of the movie Friday night.

Moore, who directed "Bowling for Columbine'' and "Fahrenheit 9/11'', focuses the camera this time on sick Americans fighting through insurance loopholes, rejected claims and pre-existing condition exclusions to get care.

Moore's conclusion is America needs a national health care program.

"I can think of many examples in American history where documentary works or even fictional works have changed public consciousness,'' said Dr. Andrew Coates, who hopes "Sicko'' rises to those ranks.

Coates, an Albany internist, is secretary of the Capital District Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. The national association has 14,000 members and has been advocating for a national health care policy for 20 years.

Coates pointed to the influence of the 1960 documentary "Harvest of Shame,'' a CBS Reports story on the unjust working conditions of migrant workers, and the photographs of child workers in American factories by Lewis Hines in 1908, and Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin.'' The 1852 book about slavery was said to be a catalyst for the Civil War.

"Sicko'' may not be quite as incendiary, but its release is certainly well-timed.

"You know in the entire presidential election health care has been flagged as a colossal issue,'' he said. "I really think there is a context of change for this movie and it could potentially alter the terms of the debate.''

Tina Gerardi, chief executive officer of New York State Nurses Association, saw a special screening of "Sicko'' in New York City with Moore and was among dozens of nurses who attended the Spectrum screening on Wednesday evening.

"I thought it was a very compelling, very moving,'' Gerardi said.

The movie follows several people trying to get health care and compares the health care systems in Canada, France and Cuba. Moore takes one man who got sick from working at the World Trade Center after 9/11 to Cuba, where is able to get treatment.

While Moore's other movies have been extremely political, this one "is not as `in your face','' Gerardi said. "The story alone ... makes you feel for these people, but by the grace of God, that could be me.''

The national nursing association and the New York chapter support a single-payer, Medicare-for-all kind of health care system.

Nurses see the injustices of the current system every day, Gerardi said, from patients who can't afford their medications to people who have avoided the doctor because they don't have insurance only to have a minor health problem swell into a serious medical threat.

We have the best health care and we have the best technology, yeah, if you can access it,'' she said. "The problem is we have millions of Americans who don't have health insurance, and even having health insurance isn't enough.''
Gerardi believes "Sicko'' might vault universal health care into the elections, both on the national and local levels.

Albany Med student Erin Flynn sent out an e-mail to her classmates asking if they wanted to go to the opening of the movie. She expected a handful of students to reply, but more than 50 signed on. The students will wear their hip-length coats, a sign of their in-training status and a symbol of their future role in the medical world.

"We want to show that we, as med students, are concerned,'' said Flynn, a third-year student. "These are our patients. We came into this really wanted to help people that we see every day.''

The students are already seeing patients and witnessing disparate insurance coverage, she said.

"Access is so severely limited, doctors' hands are really tied at times in trying to provide the best possible care,'' Flynn said. "The second question out of a doctor's mouth shouldn't be `What insurance do you have?' But, sometimes it is.''

I wonder if Michael Moore wants everybody in California to take all the same "supplements" that Arnold took (and probably still is taking), too.

Did he forget to say that Mr.Arnold has enough $$ to purchase his own personal MD/NURSE for long time use.....this will always exist----has Mr.Moore addressed that??----will Mr. Moore be lying in a bed next to you or me???-----I want to see Mr. Moore treated at the same level as everyone else.....right now we can blame choice of where we live and what we do on the level of healthcare we receive.....and choice based on the diseases that we need to be treated ie:herpes, aids, lung cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, diseases from chemical WE choose to manufacture etc etc.......maybe Mr. Moore (who has obviouly made certain dietary choices) should research a little "moore".......

"FREE" healthcare does not constitute good healthcare----as we all know: it will still depend on who you are and where you live and who knows you and what you have to offer $$......if you are 'blessed' with 'extra' $$ you are able to afford that 'extra' touch....it wont keep you from the grave, but it will make you think you are further away (and maybe you are but no one can prove that)  stats are all in the mind of the beholder and the person doing them....

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.......maybe Mr. Moore (who has obviouly made certain dietary choices) should research a little "moore".......

Good one Senders....good one!

I don't know what Mr. Moore is trying to do here, but if the people start to believe him, I would be afraid that our health care system would be at risk. True, there are some uninsured people in this country, but there always has been. If this becomes a health care system run by the government, then all people would be covered but the quality of care would be lost.

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I don't know what Mr. Moore is trying to do here, but if the people start to believe him, I would be afraid that our health care system would be at risk. True, there are some uninsured people in this country, but there always has been. If this becomes a health care system run by the government, then all people would be covered but the quality of care would be lost.

So true, Tony.  And here's a question for you.  Once we have national healthcare, will you and I be sitting at the same clinic as Ms. Hillary?  I highly doubt it.  While I would be afraid for my job if we did get national health care, I would agree to go along with it IF AND ONLY IF the "upper class" had to deal with the same treatment that us "lower class people," would be subjected to.

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I would agree to go along with it IF AND ONLY IF the "upper class" had to deal with the same treatment that us "lower class people," would be subjected to.

And you know that's clearly not going to happen! Us slugs will be in the mile long clinic line waiting 9months for an MRI and the Hillary's of the world will be 1st and foremost with the best quality of health care cause they are more important andmore valuable to society. Not us slugs. We would be considered the 'drain and strain' on the economic/medical system!
I'm tellin' ya folks..that is just the way it is going to be in the very near future if the dem's aquire even more power!

http://www.humaneventsonline.com

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Sicko': A Universal Nightmare
By Ericka Andersen

Waiting four months for an MRI, sitting for seemingly interminable hours in emergency rooms and having cancer surgery considered "elective" are a few of the risks those countries with universal healthcare take. If America listens to Democrats and Michael Moore, waiting lists, under-funding and less medical options are the future of American healthcare. I watched "Sicko" on the internet, where a bootleg copy was posted before the film's release.

Ain't that last post the truth? Mr.Sicko was on Larry King Live tonight. I had to shut it off....eeeyyyuuukkkk!!!

http://www.dailygazette.com

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Dan DiNicola CRITIC AT LARGE Moore’s ‘Sicko’ should stir real debate on health care

   Three decades ago, I decided to help my father out by purchasing a kind of catastrophic insurance policy. My mother was in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s, and with her strong heart, it seemed that she might outlive him.
   At $65 a month, it seemed too good to be true. As soon as she entered a nursing home, which seemed plausible, my dad could get $2,500 a month. As it turned out, it was too good to be true. The salesman must have forgotten to inform me that the benefits would kick in only after my mother’s Medicare benefits ran out. That is, after she spent 100 days needing “acute care,” a virtual impossibility, because anyone needing acute care for 100 days is dead long before that deadline takes effect.
   As it turned out, my mother beat the odds. In and out of hospitals with pneumonia and with the help of a compassionate nursing care director, she used up her acute days. The insurance company had to start paying. Relieved that he would not go to the poor house, my father turned the heat up over 60 degrees.
LABYRINTH OF SYSTEM
   That was my first bout with the labyrinthian nature of health insurance in America. In Germany, which lost the war, my in-laws got acute health care for nothing and for as long as they needed it. In our victorious nation, my father, who retired after 40 years of service, had to worry about going broke. He was one of millions susceptible to this kind of humiliation. Something was wrong. Something needed to be fixed, for it seemed to me that we were part of a system that was robbing people of their dignity.
   Since then, I have witnessed and heard of countless instances in which good, honest, hard-working Americans were pinched into poverty or denied benefits for what seemed some trumped-up technicality. Until her surgeons lodged a protest, threatening to go public, a breast cancer patient was denied coverage because she had the audacity to have consented to a medically advised breast reduction years before. The mother of a girl with bi-polar condition was denied coverage after four visits with a psychiatrist. People close to me working with HMOs related horror stories about how officials were given bonuses based on their claim refusals.
   “Oh, you didn’t tell us about that yeast infection five years ago. Sorry, your failure to disclose means we cannot cover your treatment for cervical cancer.”
   In “Sicko,” Michael Moore addresses the issue of a nation sick with the plague of injustice when it comes to health care. Even if you are annoyed by his approach or his persona, even if you wish he would elaborate more on certain issues, it’s hard to deny the truth and value of his efforts.
   You can bet that officials in the government and private enterprise will sic their lapdogs on Moore, trying to counter one of his “alleged facts.” Maybe, as is his wont, our vice president will call up Rush Limbaugh with some ammunition in an attempt to paint Moore as a slob or socialist.
   I care less about what you think about Moore than I do about asking you to see his film. I am requesting that you walk into the movie and meet it head-on with your own intelligence and your already formed views about politics, economics, history and the duties a government owes its citizens. What we need, and what “Sicko” provides, is a springboard for a healthy debate. And we already know that of all the concerns we share, health care is at or near the top of the list.
   I pretend to be no expert on the issue, but it seems to me that national health insurance is as inevitable today as Social Security was in 1936. We forget that a program that most of us accept as a lifeline was deemed radical and socialistic when it was proposed.
PROPER RESPECT
   As one who benefited from excellent care and attention when I ran into trouble seven years ago, I have immense respect for those who practice the art of medicine. I understand and respect those small businesspeople who will balk at the cost of mandatory insurance for their employees. I also believe that anyone who opens a business should be compelled to provide health insurance for employees, and that the government should provide aid and incentives for business owners who would justifiably find doing so a hardship.
   On all levels, we have to do our best to root out greed as the prime motivation in providing health care to our citizens. We should not forget that the practice of medicine has its basis in the love of healing, not in the love of profit, and that ideal should extend to everyone in the business. We have to find a way to supply adequate medication to everyone who needs it. My guess is that profits in the pharmaceutical industry are exorbitant, if not obscene. On the other hand, there must be adequate funding for research.
   It is not an easy task, and as one expert told me recently, restructuring our health care system takes pain we all have to share. We should all thank Michael Moore for making a mainstream movie that alerts and awakens us to action. Now is the time for you to put on your critical hat and think long and hard about issues determining our welfare.

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On all levels, we have to do our best to root out greed as the prime motivation in providing health care to our citizens. We should not forget that the practice of medicine has its basis in the love of healing, not in the love of profit, and that ideal should extend to everyone in the business.

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We should not forget that the practice of medicine has its basis in the love of healing,

bullshhmmt.....remember the snake oil salesman??? We would just be handing this torch over to a single entity called--government---our government would then become the snake oil salesman.....they would be sued to 'allow' all kinds of treatments such as stone therapy, aroma therapy, accupuncture, colon cleansing, and anything any so called MD would deem as a 'healing medicine'.....

Would this also include the psycotherapy done on TV via Dr. Phil and the rest of them??? Would they be allowed to be 'subsidized' through some strange loophole???....they are 'treating' Americans...are they not??

http://www.dailygazette.com

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‘Sicko’ dead wrong about drug industry
VITO SPINELLI Scotia

   Dan DiNicola has been seduced by Michael Moore’s latest film, “Sicko.” In his favorable July 1 review of the propagandist’s twaddle, he states: “My guess is that profits in the pharmaceutical industry are exorbitant, if not obscene.” He obviously believes in price controls.
   Buy why stop at this industry? Why not the price of admission at amusement parks, movie theaters, rock concerts, insurance premiums, politicians’ salaries, etc.?
   I was employed by a pharmaceutical company for 20 years before retiring. The company employed 6,000 people, a majority of who were highly skilled. Most of the chemists and scientists involved in research and development were Ph.D.s. The funds allocated to this effort were enormous with no guarantee of favorable results. In support were engineers and designers in all fields — maintenance, purchasing, manufacturing, human resources, pension and health plans — all part of the system. The dispensary consisted of three full-time doctors and several nurses. Once a year every employee received a complete physical. Which function would Moore and DiNicola wish to see eliminated by price controls?
   There was a time when the AARP, senior centers and housing did not exist — for a very good reason. On average, people did not live long enough to qualify. Walk into any gaming casino or take a bus trip, and one can readily see the results of our pharmaceutical industry.
   The July 8 Gazette ran a lengthy report on AIDS. It concentrated on a particular individual with the disease. He stated: “By the grace of God I’m still breathing” — wrong. He has been kept alive for the past 10 years by the dedicated individuals who are employed by the pharmaceutical industry.  

  
  
  

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‘Sicko’ was right on the money about America’s health care system

   I went to the movies the other night to see Michael Moore’s “Sicko.” Now before those of you who have faith in an HMO, the AMA or Big Pharma begin your dismissals, it might be well to mention that Moore’s film is well documented. You can knitpick until your ethylene glycol freezes over, but every one of his current and past attackers has had to eat crow for their blundering appraisals of his films and books.
   Recently CNN’s Wolfe Blitzer’s beard turned to mulch when confronted with his clumsy gaffes regarding Michael’s previous film, “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Michael then went on further to document the veracity of his current work.
   Yes, 54.5 million Americans are without health insurance coverage. Yes, 18,000 Americans die unnecessarily each year in this country because they lack health care. Yes, in the past, the Republican Congress, the pharmaceutical/health insurance villains, the AMA, and the Christian Coalition spent well over $100 million to besmirch and dismiss then First Lady Hillary Clinton’s attempt to provide us all with singlepayer universal health coverage.
   So if our good Christian Republican representatives, along with powerful health care providers, wish to continue attacking the concept of single-payer, universal health care, they should — rather than denigrate Michael Moore — explain some apparent deficiencies in the system. The United States ranks 37th in health care among industrialized nations. We suffer one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. We spend more of our gross domestic product index on health care than any other nation in the world, and yet experience a comparatively lower life expectancy.
   I have a prediction. Should members of Congress decide to act on universal health care, they will assuredly and without hesitation hand over their pens to the pharmaceutical/health insurance industry’s greedy thugs who will produce a bill to reward themselves in return for campaign contributions — just as they did when they wrote the recent [Medicare drug] bill, which turned out to be another trillion-dollar “rob the poor and elderly” boondoggle.
   At the conclusion of the film’s screening, there was actual applause from the audience. However, given that the film is showing in only two Albany theaters, I am sure that poor Michael is simply preaching to the choir.
   JAMES T. HAMMOND
   Hagaman  

  
  
  

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We suffer one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. We spend more of our gross domestic product index on health care than any other nation in the world, and yet experience a comparatively lower life expectancy

Infant mortality rate based on what??--do you include abortion??? or those killed by their own mothers fathers caregivers???...here is the thing how many of us know folks who have gone to college on mom/dads bill only to party it away--yet when ya gotta pay for it yourself,,,it becomes more important to 'pay attention', so to speak.......do we have lower life expectancy because of our choices???.....I suppose bungee jumping wouldn't be on the top of the list for a 'healthy activity'....nor would eating a big-mac, supersized fries and soda 2xday everyday.......riddle me that batman......