Michael Moore's SiCKO

Me and my lil bro's favorite person, Michael Moore, is releasing a new documentary about the American health care system. The American health care system is one of my personal causes, too, so really excited to see this. I f-en love Michael Moore.

The clip above is about the UK health care system, NHS, and how when you go to the hospital here, you don't pay a thing. No co-pay, no private insurance, and all prescriptions are £6 regardless of what it is. Yeah, it's a little amazing, no? Since moving here, I haven't really gotten much out of the NHS because I haven't had anything beyond a cold. When it comes to flus and colds, the NHS is a bit annoying because you go and they can't do anything for you (since there really isn't anything you can do about a virus other than let it pass). What I realized though was that whenever I go to the doctor in America for a cold, because I'm paying the bill or at least my co-pay, I think doctors feel like they have to give you something when you leave or otherwise, we'd get mad because it's like paying for a shirt at the mall and then leaving empty handed. So notice that in the States, they ALWAYS give you a prescription for antibiotics, regardless of what's wrong with you, just so you have something in your hand when you leave. So when I moved here and got sick all the time because of the damn weather, I would go to the NHS clinic and be like, aren't you going to give me anything? And they'd be like "no," because you can't do anything but rest and drink fluids for a virus, and it'd make me feel a little cheated, until I realized that I wasn't paying anything to be there in the first place and that taking antibiotics when you don't need them is actually not good health care at all!

People here complain about the health care system, saying it's inefficient, but I actually get really mad when they say this because compared to where I'm from, I think NHS is amazing. If you get shot in London, which is rare because they don't really have guns here, and you go to the emergency room, they'll fix you for free! When my friend's boyfriend got shot a few years back, they slapped him with tens of thousands of dollars in debt for saving his life. Another time, I had a friend get stabbed and then the ambulance arrived and took him to the emergency room, they tried to charge us $300 for the 10-minute ride (a limo would have been cheaper). COME ON GUYS! How can you put a price on saving a human life? It's barbaric. Also, people complain here about the queues (lines) at hospitals, but hell, we have them, too. And yeah, the wait at NHS hospitals is a bit longer than for American hospitals, but if you're dying, they'll still make you priority one, so is waiting in line a few extra minutes when you have a broken bone THAT much of a sacrifice? And really, if you're unhappy with the quality of free health care in Britain and you're rich, you can always hire private doctors. And honestly, when you're bleeding out, I don't think you'd really care that you have some expensive specialist. I'd just want someone to save my damn life.

Also, because the government is responsible for footing the bill for health care costs, they have a higher stake in the well-being of their people. There are very few gunshot wounds here because guns are so rare, and so reduces the medical costs. So, the government has a vested interest in reducing obesity in this country because fat people make health care costs increase. It was to the point that they were considering putting special labels on plus-size clothing to discourage obesity. They also have a vested interest in reducing smokers, since lung cancer is expensive, too. I think this makes so much sense, whereas in America, the government sides with Big Tobacco and McDonald's, because that's where their campaign money comes from. Imagine if every fat person or smoker caused taxes to increase. Trust me, the government would not be as lenient on people eating Big Macs and smoking 2 packs a day. Imagine if America had to pay for mental health costs. There would be a lot fewer kids on Ritalin and a lot fewer overworked Corporate beancounters.

AND despite the fact that the government is paying for people's health care, the British pay less than us in taxes! They pay about 20-30%, compared to our average 36% for federal income taxes, not to mention state taxes (11% in CA). Their taxes on day to day stuff (VAT) is a lot higher though, but STILL, at least they get something for their money. Do you realize Americans pay almost as much as the Swedish do, and that's a socialist country where the government provides almost everything! You'd think after paying half your income to the government should guarantee you're ability to live a healthy life.

I don't know what Michael Moore's movie's going to talk about, but I really hope his movie brings a lot of attention to American health care the way his previous movies did and that this topic is taken seriously in America. WE NEED HEALTH CARE REFORM. At this point, I don't even care what kind of reform as long as it's something. I think if the U.S. government were held accountable for the health care costs of our nation, they'd do things a lot differently in terms of their relations with Big Business and it'd be a huge step in improving our country. Citizens deserve health care and social security. Those are basic needs that should be fulfilled by our government.


So June 29th, peoples.