Analyzing Michael Moore's 'Sicko' as a Healthcare Film

However, this system has been a part of a never ending healthcare debate. Many argue that this system underperforms habitually as the deliverables are in no match to the amount of spending. The discussion has largely been based on government-mandate of universal health coverage plan and the costs of the healthcare in the country. This structure has repeatedly been questioned on it access, efficiency and quality. Several feel that the beneficiary is not the average American but insurance companies and health care lobbyists. Like everywhere else, where there is refute; there is reform. In the year 2004, the First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s attempt to reform the healthcare scene by criticizing its basis and offering remedies was defeated by the Congress. In 2007, filmmaker Michael Moore’s, Sicko; denunciated the American healthcare system and how it affects its people.

The lucrative healthcare companies in America have created an immeasurable gap between good healthcare only being for the privileged upper class Americans which has left a horrible effect on the middle and lower class Americans. As modern medicine achieves new heights, the prices of healthcare seem to tread right behind maintaining an unbroken pattern that American classes have grown accustomed to over the past few decades of paying more for less. Leaving many Americans uninsured, underinsured, or even in debt. In a speech Bernie Sanders a U.S. Senator from Vermont spoke at a presidential campaign October of 2015 which he discussed the unruly problematic healthcare trend of price gouging, that is the medical industry getting the most it can from American citizens. In a blog Bernie Sanders states that “46 million Americans today have no health insurance and even more are underinsured with high deductibles and co-payments” (Sanders). 18,000 Americans die every year from preventable illnesses because they cannot cover the cost and don’t go to the doctor when they should. Sanders summed this situation up with this “Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege” (Sanders). After researching the issue of healthcare, I have come to the conclusion that the American healthcare system is disintegrating due to the ravenousness of modern medical industries, first I will discuss a few reasons to why the healthcare system is failing the modern American

Michael Moore depicts the American health care system as one that contains many flaws. He goes on to show different people who have not been able to afford the ridiculous sum of money to perform certain procedures. While scrutinizing the American health care system Michael ventures to Canada, France, Cuba and Great Britain in an attempt to compare health insurance and pharmaceuticals.

I will compare the current health care system with the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that became law on March 23, 2010.   The current system, which is being phased out between 2011 and 2018 is increasingly inaccessible to many poor and lower-middle-class people. About 47 million Americans lack health insurance, an increase of more than two million people from 2005 (Rover, 2011) the increasingly complex warfare between insurers and hospitals over who pays the bills is gobbling up a great deal of money and the end result is that the United States pays roughly twice as much per

The author compares the specific goals and claims of the Affordable Care Act with the actual experiences in the areas of its implementation. The assessment is made in terms of access, costs and affordability, and quality of care provided. The article uses secondary data to present the perimeters of the assessment. According to the findings, affordable healthcare cost has not been realized and over 37 million Americans are likely to remain uninsured even after full implementation of ACA in 2019. More millions are likely to remain underinsured as profiteering will dominate the culture of healthcare in the US. The author notes that there is need to address the for-profit and bureaucracy in the US healthcare system and concludes by laying out benefits and economic, moral and sociopolitical lessons from ACA within the first five

Before the 23rd of March 2010 having health insurance was optional for all Americans. On March 23rd of 2010 Obama’s health care reforms timeline began. The health care reform is also called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for short. The affordable care act should “provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending…” (Healthcare). Obama’s new health care plan is forcing all Americans to get health insurance and those who don’t get health insurance will be penalized when filing taxes. The health care reform has now taken full effect on the people of the United States, so we have citizens who are excited about the reform, and we also have citizens who are upset about the reform.

There are Currently 32 million people without health insurance in the United States. This means that roughly 83 per cent of citizens have to live day by day hoping they won’t get sick. For this reason, President Obama signed the U.S health reform bill into law. The health reform will make health care more affordable for citizens. Employers with more than 50 employees will be forced to provide coverage for all, or they will have to pay a fine. It will also make health insures more responsible. For example, health insurance carriers are forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions, and from canceling policies because someone gets sick. It will also expand

The ACA started rocky and has been through provisions that have aided to more American citizens being eligible for government health insurance. The social contract between the ACA health care policy and the American citizen’s is formed because of the U.S. governments concern for the health of it citizens. In 2011, almost 48 million citizens of America did not have health insurance and the under-insured nearly amount to 25 million (Horton, Abadia, Mulligan & Thompson, 2014). The rising numbers of health barriers have influenced the U.S. government and the policy making process. Social contracts in America have been molded around public policy throughout the years (Lind, 2007). A health care policy like the ACA goes through a complex system

Due to the upcoming presidential election, the two major political parties, and their candidates, have been focusing on the primary problems that the nation will face. Chief among those problems is the future of Medicare, the national health-insurance plan. Medicare was enacted in 1965, under the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson, in order to provide health insurance for retired citizens and the disabled (Ryan). The Medicare program covers most people aged 65 or older, as well as handicapped people who enroll in the program, and consists of two health plans: a hospital insurance plan (part A) and a medical insurance plan (part B) (Marmor 22). Before Medicare, many Americans didn't have health

America is a place where myriad of people desired to migrate and to live in as there are American Dream, same meaning as opportunity to endeavor after life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This opportunity is social, economic and spiritual. However, the deteriorated political system makes American dream has the metamorphosis from opportunity to materialism. In some people’s mind, opportunities are not in America, but somewhere else. In documentary film “Sicko”, the director Michael Moore exposes the dysfunctional North American health care system, aim primarily at huge profits and not for their mission of saving lives. Further, he shows the corruption in the political system, with members of government and congress and the situation

Imagine a nation where one did not have to worry about deductibles, high monthly insurance rates, and being denied health care. Is this possible? Can the United States (U.S.) have this or is such a nation fiction? Michael Moore, known documentary filmmaker, set out on a mission. This mission was featured in his documentary, Sicko. The mission consisted of multiple rhetorical strategies to disclose the positive and negative effects of socialized health care. The great thing about this topic is that it’s applicable to a wide audience. From teenagers just starting to get health insurance, to people midway through their life that may have been burned by the industry, to seniors that need to still work in their eighties to pay off their health care bills. Moore gives good insight to both sides of the argument, and allows the audience to examine all factors. Through many accounts of Moore’s credibility, emotional connections, and pure facts; the audience is strongly convinced that the U.S. should move to a socialized health care system.

All around the globe, in places including Britain, Canada, Cuba, France and many other countries the mere thought of pulling out a credit card and paying for health services in hospital seems ludicrous. This is because these countries all have free universal health care, meaning that the majority of health care cost are covered by the government. In other words it is free! However, this is not the case the United States of America, where healthcare is privately funded and covered by insurance companies. Michael Moore, in his documentary Sicko explores the flawed US health care system comparing it to countries with universal health care and resolves the current system is corrupt and full of injustices. Throughout the film interviews that the audience can empathize with are conducted making the viewer feel certain emotions leading them to believe that the American health insurance companies are full of is corruption. In addition, images of past events that viewers can resonate with stir up strong emotions and plant the seed of how flawed the health industry is. Furthermore, Moore literally casts himself as the lead character and is able to manipulate certain scenes in order to convey his message because he is able to guide the flow of the scene. By using several cinematic techniques such as good casting, relatable images and personable interviews Moore is able to construct his version of the American health industry, leading the viewer to believe

Imagine a nation where one didn’t have to worry about deductibles, high monthly insurance rates, and being denied healthcare. Is this possible? Can the United States (U.S.) have this or is this fiction? Michael Moore, known documentary filmmaker, set out on a mission. This mission was featured in his documentary, Sicko. The mission consisted of multiple rhetorical strategies to disclose the positive and negative effects of socialized healthcare. The great thing about this topic is that it’s applicable to a wide audience. From teenagers just starting out there health insurance, to people midway through their life that may have been burn by the industry, to even seniors that need to still work in their eighties to pay off their healthcare

In the same breadth, Moore fails to talk about how the U.S. market-driven medical innovation has resulted in high survival rates, high patient satisfaction rates, and effective new drug launches in the U.S . All the stories we see are told only from the viewpoint of the victims with no input from the insurers or the doctors. He makes no mention of the U.S. government funded systems like Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP and the VA. All he mentions is about how America spends the most on heathcare (16% of GDP), but ranks low on most of the key indicators of health care and has almost 46 million uninsured.

Regardless of one’s financial standing, health care is an essential service. Without proper care, a cold can turn into pneumonia, a broken leg can turn into a disability, and high blood pressure can lead to a fatal heart attack. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize why nearly every industrialized nation has transitioned to a health care system that is both universal, and tightly controlled by the government. What’s less obvious, however, is how and why the United States has fallen so terribly behind these other nations. Despite the efforts of the Affordable Care Act, the largest American health reform bill since the 1960s, 11% (roughly 35 million) of the American population was uninsured in 2016 (McArdle, 2016).