Saturday, September 20, 2008

Sicko - Michael Moore (warning - some spoilers)

Lets start by saying this is a biased view of the American "health" system, however even if part of what is in the movie is true, it should sound a warning about a system that needs its' own health check.

It's interesting to see how the wealthy companies are pulling the politician strings and we see who is actually creating government policies. It does make a mockery of what we thought was a democracy.

I was touched by the Cuban scene where the participants were able to get better treatment in Cuba.

Moore also looked at other health systems including France, UK, Canada and Norway. He was also biased by not looking at what didn't work so well in these systems. For instance, New Zealand's health system is far from perfect, however compared to American standards, there is no way I want to be sick in the US. I am happy to have private healthcare to look after my family if the public system doesn't deliver to expectations.

With ageing populations around the world there will be continued pressure on health systems as demand exceeds supply. However with scientific advancements we should see an increase in medical care. The ageing population will also be a large portion of the voters and will have a larger say in determining health policy.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

nice review, I talked about the movie recently here: Headless Animal Crackers