Good morning. Is this Canadian lady correct in her assessment of Michael Moore's 'Sicko'?

Question

"I am a new American, but I grew up and worked for many years in Canada. And I know the health care system of my native country much more intimately than does Moore. There's a good reason why my former countrymen with the money to do so either use the services of a booming industry of illegal private clinics, or come to America to take advantage of the health care that Moore denounces.

Government-run health care in Canada inevitably resolves into a dehumanizing system of triage, where the weak and the elderly are hastened to their fates by actuarial calculation. Having fought the Canadian health care bureaucracy on behalf of my ailing mother just two years ago - she was too old, and too sick, to merit the highest quality care in the government's eyes - I can honestly say that Moore's preferred health care system is something I wouldn't wish on him."

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/07/06/2007-07-06_more_lies_from_moore.html

Answer 1

Government run health care is not the way to go. I also am very familiar with the Canadian system. If you think greed is bad now, wait until the government takes over. 1 aspirin will cost you $100 at the hospital. Why? Because companies that make it will know the government will pay it. And where is the government going to get the money to pay it? Out of your taxes. Trust me, there is no such thing as "free" health care. One way or another you're going to pay for it.

Just ask the overtaxed middle class in Canada who are dying in hospital hallways waiting for treatment.

Answer 2

I think we all agree that we enjoy our Police force, our Firefighters and our Public Library System. They are all socialized industries in America. The fact that the Police serve any and all citizens is a great comfort. Never has the situation arose where one must call the police and verify their protection insurance prior to being rescued from danger. The Police simply save. So do the firefighters.

Why not have the same benefit in the health care system. I've lived London previously and can certainly say I enjoyed their health care system far more than I have America's.

I do believe America is the greatest nation there is. I simply think that we must adapt to this issue in order to maintain that status.

Answer 3

'America will do it better than Canada"? That's poor logic. Their system is flawed at the fundamental level, it can't be done much better.

Socialized medicine will not pay doctors enough for them to continue to work amazing amounts of hours, thus creating an even larger shortcoming of physicians. Very few highly functioning people in the future will choose to become MD's because the financial incentive is not there. Thus, we will have huge waiting lists for everything just like Canada, where you can wait 14 months to have a bypass.

Our current system is certainly not perfect, but it is much better than socialized medicine. The answer is to make our system more free market based. Competition will increase quality.

Answer 4

Be wary of its source.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pacific_Research_Institute

This "research" institute is merely a right-wing "think" tank that will do everything to discredit any form of gov't-funded entity. Even with its flaws regarding wait times for major procedures, the Canadian system is preferable when it comes to primary preventative care, since everyone is covered and as a result, Canadians are less likely to even have many of the chronic ailments that many Americans suffer from, which is why they tend to have a longer life expectancy.

Answer 5

I saw Michael Moore on Larry King, and he didn't say he wanted a health-care system exactly like Canada or France, but that ours can be improved by using some of the same methods. I believe he is correct.

Answer 6

Before you come to any startling conclusions about the quality of health care in America, best to wait until you've had the misfortune of dealing with HMO's and providers whose medical decisions are made solely by accountants rather than health care professionals. You just might rethink your position.

Answer 7

Well this is American and we are the best right? So we will just take some of the ideas that work good in Canada, England, France, Norway, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Japan, etc and build one awesome not-for-profit system for the people.

Answer 8

Unless you hold many shares of stock or are a highly paid executive in the pharmaceutical or insurance industries, I don't understand how any American can defend our system.

It is broken.

Greed has destroyed it.

(Examine and analyze your next billing statement.)

Answer 9

I saw "Sicko" and the movie didn't glamourize the Canadian Health care system, it stated that it is free. The clinics were not that great in my opinion. But if you saw the movie you would have seen England and Cuba's system. Pretty impressive in my opinion.
So, as the "Greatest" country in the world, we certainly could have the greatest health care system.
Until then, America sucks in taking care of it's poor and under insured!

Answer 10

It is her opinion....I don't know. I have never been to Canada...that being said, what has Canada ever done better than the US? Curling? I'm sure we could come up with a better system than Canada.