“Sicko” — a review — Save your money!

When it was suggested that I see and review "Sicko," there was no question that there was a link to headaches and Migraines. Those of us with Migraine disease and chronic headaches are among those who encounter the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare system, wherever we live.

 

We need to take a good, objectively critical look at the U.S. healthcare system. "Sicko" met all my expectations that it would be biased and have a definite political agenda. It does, and one would have to be dense beyond words to miss either the bias or the agenda. Still, regardless of their own point of view, I would propose that anyone who is in a position to impact healthcare should be required to watch "Sicko" and pay attention to some of the problems of the American healthcare system that are shown in the movie.

 

There were instances in "Sicko" where the statistics Moore quoted seemed off to me. In trying to research them for myself, I found it impossible to replicate some of the statistics used to compare the U.S. system in other countries. I could find reports, from the World Health Organization for example, that would have the statistic Moore quoted for one country, but it didn't have the other. Interestingly, Moore and CNN have had an ongoing "discussion" on this exact issue. CNN has now published information that explains my confusion. It seems that Moore was perhaps comparing apples to oranges by taking what should have been comparative statistics from two different reports.5

 

I can't decide if Michael Moore is a pain in the behind with an over-inflated impression of himself and his work or a genius at self promotion. As I write this, there's an ongoing battle of blogs between Moore and CNN, primarily over comments made by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Gupta actually admires Michael Moore and says they both agree on the need to fix the healthcare system. However, he does question unsourced figures that Moore uses in "Sicko." Certainly, Moore knows fully well that "Sicko" is controversial, and when he accepts interviews, he should expect to be asked pointed questions. Yet, when CNN's Wolfe Blitzer politely asked Moore if he wanted to comment on Dr. Sanjay Gupta's comments, Moore launched into a tirade and said, "Yeah, I'd like about ten minutes to respond." Blitzer asked Moor to give "a couple of headlines," to which Moore replied:

"I don't talk in sound bites. That report was so biased. I can't imagine what pharmaceutical company ad's coming up after our break here; but, uh, why don't you tell the truth to the American people? I wish that CNN and the other mainstream media would just for once tell the truth about what's going on in this country. Whether it's with healthcare. I don't care what it is. I mean, you guys have such a poor track record, and for me to come on here and listen to that kind of crap... All the statistics show that we have a far worse healthcare than these other industrialized countries. We're the only ones that don't have it free and universal... You're the ones who are fudging the facts."

Blitzer did manage to get in a few sentences during the segment, including one in which he pointed out to Moore that CNN has also been running a lot of commercials for "Sicko," and that CNN is a business and they have commercials. Moore continued to interrupt, and, of course wouldn't stay on the topic of "Sicko." He changed the subject to the topic of the war in Iraq.2 Yes, poor Michael Moore is being mistreated all the way to the bank. Every interview boosts box office, especially when he can turn them into confrontations and controversy.