Difference between revisions of "SiCKO"
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The biggest weakness of the [[documentary]] is Moore's one-sided analysis. He emphasizes the bad points of American health care and the good points of the alternatives. His portrayal of health care in Cuba is a complete whitewash. | The biggest weakness of the [[documentary]] is Moore's one-sided analysis. He emphasizes the bad points of American health care and the good points of the alternatives. His portrayal of health care in Cuba is a complete whitewash. | ||
| − | The film also inaccurately portrays the British National Health Service (NHS) as free; in | + | The film also inaccurately portrays the British National Health Service (NHS) as free; it paid for by UK citizens in the form of National Insurance (an income based tax). Although the majority of NHS care is free at the point of service there is a nominal charge for drug prescriptions (£7.10 regardless of the real cost of the drug)[http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/issue-briefs/health/nhs/nhs-prescription-services/nhs-prescription-charges-$366605.htm], dental charges are £16.20, £44.60 or £198 per course of treatment[http://www.whatprice.co.uk/dentist/nhs-prices.html]. None of these charges apply if you are pregnant, under 16, over 60, in full time education or living on benefits[http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/issue-briefs/health/nhs/nhs-prescription-services/nhs-prescription-charges-$366605.htm]. |
The film has generated some controversy for a sequence in which Moore brings a group of patients to [[Cuba]], which may have violated the American embargo of that country. The film is designed to have a political impact, but both [[Republican]] and [[Democratic]] politicians have distanced themselves from it.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-movie22jun22,0,5962985.story?coll=la-home-center</ref> | The film has generated some controversy for a sequence in which Moore brings a group of patients to [[Cuba]], which may have violated the American embargo of that country. The film is designed to have a political impact, but both [[Republican]] and [[Democratic]] politicians have distanced themselves from it.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-movie22jun22,0,5962985.story?coll=la-home-center</ref> | ||
Revision as of 12:24, January 28, 2009
SiCKO is a 2007 film by American filmmaker Michael Moore which uses the health care debate to critique the economic system of America (see free market economics). Moore unfavorably compares the American health care system to various other countries' systems of universal health care.
The biggest weakness of the documentary is Moore's one-sided analysis. He emphasizes the bad points of American health care and the good points of the alternatives. His portrayal of health care in Cuba is a complete whitewash.
The film also inaccurately portrays the British National Health Service (NHS) as free; it paid for by UK citizens in the form of National Insurance (an income based tax). Although the majority of NHS care is free at the point of service there is a nominal charge for drug prescriptions (£7.10 regardless of the real cost of the drug)[1], dental charges are £16.20, £44.60 or £198 per course of treatment[2]. None of these charges apply if you are pregnant, under 16, over 60, in full time education or living on benefits[3].
The film has generated some controversy for a sequence in which Moore brings a group of patients to Cuba, which may have violated the American embargo of that country. The film is designed to have a political impact, but both Republican and Democratic politicians have distanced themselves from it.[1]
Reviews
The film has a 93% "Fresh" rating at RottenTomatoes.[2]
Peter Barry Chowka at American Thinker says "Sicko" is "a naked propaganda exercise on behalf of full-bore socialism. [3]
David Asman of Fox News says the film "keeps getting praise, even though some of it just isn't true—like his suggestion that Cubans get better heath care than we do". [4]
Roger Friedman of Fox News called the film a "brilliant and uplifting new documentary" and praised Moore for the way in which he lets "very articulate average Americans tell their personal horror stories at the hands of insurance companies" and "criticizes both Democrats and Republicans for their inaction and in some cases their willingness to be bribed by pharmaceutical companies and insurance carriers."[5]
Embargo Investigation
The production of SiCKO has brought about a controversy concerning Moore’s adherence to the United States broad trade embargo imposed against Cuba since 1962. A United States Treasury Department letter implied that Moore did not receive authorization before traveling to Cuba to film his documentary; this would be in direct conflict with the embargo’s rules[6]. Moore is now facing a U.S. government probe on the legality of the Cuba trip[7]. He has hired an elite Washington attorney, David Boies, to represent him in the matter, and states, "I have broken no laws, and I have nothing to hide.”[8]
References
- ↑ http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-movie22jun22,0,5962985.story?coll=la-home-center
- ↑ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sicko/
- ↑ http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/06/prepare_to_be_sickened_by_sick.html
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290197,00.html
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273875,00.html
- ↑ http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1118621
- ↑ http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/05/11/1920233.htm
- ↑ http://au.news.yahoo.com/070510/2/13f42.html
