Corruption of the US Healthcare System in Michael Moore's Sicko

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.

In the article, “Our Big Appetite for Healthcare” written by Daniel J. Stone was in the March 31 2013 issue for Los Angeles Times. Doctor Stone intended audience are the reader of the Los Angeles Time. Stone’s purpose in this article is to persuade his readers that he wants to change the healthcare culture from “more is better” to “do what is medically indicated to provide the best outcome”. Stone supports his argument with strategies and evidence.

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

Sicko is a 2007 documentary produced, written and directed by the American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates the United States health cares system, focusing primarily on health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. Moore does not in fact pose questions as to how America should reform its health care however it does suggest many solutions.

Insurance however covers basic services making the US health system an imperfect market since patients are not directly generating the cost of services. The next characteristic is the government acts as a subsidiary to the private sector. The US system is largely in private hands; whatever is left is filled by the government which includes support for research and training. Another characteristic is the fusion of market justice and social justice. Market justice focuses on the fair distribution of health care on the market in a free economy. It is based on the patient’s compliance and capability of paying for their medical care. Social justice focuses on the community over the individual. This believes that the patient is unable to afford medical care. The fusion of both theories can work well together in that some people can receive insurance through employers and those that can’t, will receive insurance through the government. However, they can also create problems in that some employers cannot afford the cost of private insurance providers and the employees do not qualify for government health insurance. This leaves these people and their families uninsured. The next characteristic is multiple players and balance of powers. There are many different groups that play a role in the US health system, and each with their own interest. This

Before change can be made, a problem must be recognized. Progressive politicians, health care executives, and activists continuously shed light on the dysfunctions within today’s health care system.

In The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, T.R. Reid, a Washington Post reporter and NPR commentator, compares the United States’ health care system to the systems of other industrialized democracies. In this journey, he analyzes costs, quality, and overall functioning of the different systems. Through his first hand experiences around the globe, Reid illustrates a variety of systems, emphasizing the changes America needs.

“Sicko” is a documentary produced by Michael Moore that focuses on health care in America.The documentary provides an in depth understanding and analysis of the unceasing health care problems in America. Most of these problems result from the corruption present in the American health insurance industry. The message that Michael Moore is trying to get across to his audience is that of the immortality within the American health care system. Michael Moore is able to get his message across to the public by incorporating the three rhetoric techniques of logos, pathos, and ethos. He uses logos by comparing America’s health insurance to those of other countries,

The documentary Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare explains the numerous controversies in our healthcare system and where the system is going if it follows the same footsteps it has been taking for the past decade. Throughout the documentary there are many hosts in which they all give their personal insight on the American Healthcare System and how the system is failing and on the verge to a catastrophic breakdown. All of the hosts gathered their data through personal research that they did on the system and from working in their perspective fields over the years and just seeing the trends the healthcare system is taking and going towards.

Personally, the points made within the movie were not a surprise and have been problematic in United States healthcare system for over ten years. Without a doubt, healthcare has turned into a business driven model that focuses on the finances

Less than a hundred years ago, in the late 1920’s and 30’s, almost 90% of Americans did not have health insurance (Fall of HMO’s 4). They used a variety of home remedies and when medical assistance was truly needed, they paid for it out of pocket, even incurring vast amounts of debt. This had been the case throughout history, and it changed due to an important factor, medical equipment. The industrial revolution finally caught up with the medical industry and the country saw a vast change in the scientific instruments used by physicians. These instruments required a lot of money to make and care for which caused prices to rise. Due to this massive problem, a committee was formed of health care professionals and after a 5 year study, the Committee on the Cost of Medical Care suggested that health insurance co-operatives start. These corporate medical practices became known as Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO’s) and preferred provider organizations (PPO’s), and up until the 1970’s, were an experiment to regions across the U.S. Factors that hindered health care included bullying of “money politics” from both sides of the isle as well as Presidential views and tactics as well. President Nixon first

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

The Michael Moore movie pointed to a myriad of issues relating to the American healthcare system that are both startling and interesting. The movie was produced before the Obama Administration signed the Affordable Care Act into law, but Sicko reports that nearly 50 million Americans do not have health insurance. About 18,000 Americans die each year because they don't have health insurance. The system is clearly broken, and politics seems to have been the reason that insurance companies keep a strangle hold on consumers. For example, Sicko reports that there are nearly four times as many lobbyists in Washington D.C. pushing for their clients' agenda as there are members of Congress.

Sicko is a documentary about the American Health Care system as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker Michael Moore. It presents the health care system in America as being fragmented and inefficient by using anecdotes to illustrate the plight of the 46 million Americans without health insurance and also to address the wider concerns about the kind of care that the insured get. The film also compares the non-universal and for-profit U.S. system with publicly funded health systems of Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Cuba.