Sicko - Analysis

The United States has a very unique healthcare system. Does this mean that we are simply leagues ahead of the rest of the world in healthcare? Unfortunately, not at all. The ideal of American exceptionalism is apt to describe our healthcare system. That is, our current system is exceptionally bad. Per capita, the United States spends “twice the average of other developed countries” on healthcare ("United States Per Capita Healthcare Spending Is More Than Twice The Average Of Other Developed Countries"). Yet, in the World Health Organization’s ranking of healthcare systems by nation, the U.S. comes in at a dismal 37th place, despite spending the most per person of any country on Earth on healthcare ("World Health Organization’s Ranking of the World’s Health Systems").

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.

This movie went around the world to different countries to show the comparisons and differences in healthcare compared to each other and the U.S. The first country that was visited was the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom spends 8.3% of their GDP on healthcare. The citizens pay nothing for premiums, all of it is paid trough taxation. Some services require co-pay, but all young people and all elderly are exempt from drug co-pays. The United Kingdom calls their healthcare system “socialized medicine”; the government provides for and pays for all healthcare. The taxes that Britons pay gets distributed up to different healthcare providers. Since the United Kingdoms’ system is taxed,

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.

The documentary “Sicko”, is a video explaining why America should adopt universalized healthcare into modern society. After reviewing the video, this documentary could be seen as a form of propaganda for the pro- healthcare side. They used many propaganda tricks to grab the audiences attention and make them think on the situation.

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,

Sicko" is a narrative created by Michael Moore that puts an spotlights on medical insurance in America.The narrative gives an inside and out comprehension and examination of the endless human services issues in America. A large part of these issues result from the defilement show in the American medical coverage industry. The message that Michael Moore is attempting to get crosswise over to his crowd is that of the everlasting status inside the American healthcare insurance framework. Mr. Moore Sicko documentary was compelling because he incorporates two rhetorical techniques which are pathos and logos. He thinks about and differentiate, questions American's ethics, and offers meetings to get the watcher to agree with the contention with these techniques.

Throughout the movie, the authors identified troubling faults and failures of the current system. These included the lack of appropriate coverage, the undressing push for finance over health care quality, unsustainable costs, unethical business transactions and risks, the failure of healthcare in the United States to address the underlying issue of disease processes and the commonality of treating symptoms verse the cause.

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.

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

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.

Michael Moore successfully chose the patients he interviewed in the video with a great variety: those who were too poor to afford the insurances; those who tried to apply for one but got declined; those who had insurances but were refused to get paid; those who succeeded in getting paid yet after someone’s manipulations, failed so. These seemingly different cases eventually ended up pointing to a final conclusion that the goal of private insurance companies is not to provide their clients with proper and immediate health care but to simply maximize their income. Insurance companies avoided any potential future payments even by initially declining people who were too “thin” or “fat”. When dealing with insured clients, they secured themselves in a similar way by seeking excuses like unnecessary medication, unreported

Another issue that the economy is encountering is the case of health insurance. Several individual American citizens are lacking a sufficient amount of health care. In 1965, Medicare was established to provide healthcare among the elderly and the poor in a form of Social Aid to benefit Americans (Patterson, 2008). However, although there are approximately 16 million individuals insured by Medicare, this is small amount that is given to pay for medical bills (Universal Health Care, 2008). Along with this issue, there are also several Americans who are underinsured and also not insured at all (Kalvantz, 2009). In addition, there are those who are insured but their claim is denied. In a study of a documentary film, Sicko, by Michael Moore, it was discovered that several companies were required to deny at least ten percent of the claims (2007). This has led to the result of several individuals with the worst health issues and cases of death due to the lack of assistance in the health care industry. These issues have been a severe factor in the insufficiency of social assistance.