The Social Problems Presented In Sicko: Movie Review

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After watching the SiCKO film, I felt many different emotions. Regarding our country and the way things are in the healthcare system. I am utterly appalled. I came into so much new information about our county that I had no idea about before. It shocked me to know the truth about what is going on within the United States. On the other hand, the other countries that were researched and visited have a completely different outlook on how healthcare should be for everyone.

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In my opinion, the country that offers its citizens the best healthcare benefits is France. The benefits they are provided by the government free of charge are the following: 24-hour house call doctors, nannies that help with daily chores, maternity care for mothers, paid work leave for as long as needed, quality childcare services, along with many others. I feel that the benefits the citizens in France are provided are very luxury. The most important of these luxuries for me I feel is an unlimited amount of time for maternity care in the hospital and at home and free accessible healthcare 24 hours a day.

The citizens of France were asked how much they were charged for any medical attention and all responded with “we don’t pay for anything”. The mothers in the hospital had suite style rooms and could stay as long as needed with no charge. The Canadian citizens waiting in the doctor’s emergency clinic said they waited no more than an hour to see a doctor.

This, in my opinion, is the greatest gift of all. Here in America people can wait up to multiple hours possibly not even be seen by any healthcare professional and left to fend for themselves.

I do believe that this film provides an accurate picture of each countries healthcare systems. This is because Michael Moore provides us with evidence and facts from real people that live in these countries. He gathered live stories from the citizens of each country to be able to show the people who live day in and day out in these places. Moore shows people who are not only well off because of their healthcare system but also those that have been destroyed by it. This I feel is done to make sure to be able to capture both sides of the spectrum. In order not to show any sort of bias against another countries healthcare system.

In the U.S, Mychelle, a 2-year-old girl with a high fever passed away because of the lack of care she was provided. She was refused care because the hospital she was rushed to wasn’t in-network. She eventually was left untreated for too long resulting in cardiac arrest following her death. In France, Zoe a 2-year-old little girl had a high fever as well and was rushed to a nearby hospital and was cared for right away. Zoe was given medicine as soon as she arrived to help lower her fever and was kept for observation for three days free of charge. In Canada, a man named Brad who sliced off his fingers was provided care right away with no hesitation and cost to him whatsoever. A man named Rick had a similar incident in America, but he had to choose which finger he wanted to be placed back on because of the cost of the operation for both as too great for him to afford. In Great Britain, a woman who was due in seven weeks was staying in the hospital free of charge until the birth of her child. She was given six months of paid leave and was taking six months of unpaid leave which equals a year of maternity leave. I think this is an amazing service provided for the new mothers in Great Britain because after giving birth a woman’s body goes through a lot. Woman need time to recoup after growing and pushing life out into the world and employers here in America don’t acknowledge this. Mothers here in America are lucky to see even three weeks of maternity leave unpaid.

The individuals that currently have health insurance I strongly believe should not ever be denied health care services. Unfortunately, it is a privilege to be able to say that you have health insurance because not everyone gets approved. We as Americans pay to have health insurance. Thus, we should expect to receive the care we need when we ask for it. Although this is not the case for most people who seek out care in America. Laura, for example, has insurance. She was denied coverage of her medical bills because she did not pre-approve the costs. She had been a car accident and was knocked out cold by the impact. She removed from the destroyed vehicle and was then transported to a hospital via ambulance. She received a letter in the mail from her insurance company detailing that she was denied coverage for the costs of the ambulance trip. When was Laura supposed to “pre-approve” these costs? Whilst she was unconscious from the head-on collision? There should be no reason as to why Laura’s medical bills weren’t covered by her insurance. Adrianne is also an insurance holder in America. She was denied coverage for the treatment of her cervical cancer because the insurance company said she was too young to have cervical cancer. Adrianne went bankrupt from paying for her treatment out of pocket. After having to struggle with the American healthcare system she decided to pack up and move to Canada where she and her family would be provided free healthcare stress free.

This film SiCKO changed my view of the healthcare system in the United States dramatically. Enough to the fact that after the movie I was considering moving to any other country but America. After viewing this film, I would most definitely support a universal healthcare system. This I because I am a person who cares for others more than myself. If there is someone who can’t afford to seek out medical treatment for themselves I would not think twice about helping that person get the help they need. This is what a universal healthcare system is all about. Helping one another so that everyone no matter their income or social status can receive healthcare. Larry Gottfried, a Canadian golfer tore a muscle in his arm that resulted in the misplacement of his bicep muscle. This in America would have cost him $24,000. Larry returned home to Canada and received surgery for his arm free of charge. He could not fathom any other form of healthcare other than a universal healthcare system because he says some people aren’t able to pay for their healthcare and someone has to look after them. In Canada, the people care for one another rather than being selfish and looking out only for themselves.

In the United States, pharmaceutical companies buy the members of congress for bills to be passed that allow them to be able to charge people whatever they want. They have played a large part in what is today's healthcare system. We are charged an arm and a leg for needed medications and we have to pay it if we want to get better. The pharmaceutical companies influence politicians by buying them and giving them large shares in the stock market. The pharmaceutical companies and CEO’s profit millions and billions of dollars from robbing people of the healthcare they deserve. As a result of the pharmaceutical regulations on patients people who need medicine most of the time can’t afford it because the prices are so sky high. This causes more people to wait long periods to seek out healthcare until they are at their wit's end.

Since nurses are bound by many serious laws and regulations they must follow there isn’t much wiggle room when it comes to changing the current healthcare system. What can be done is to strive to always improve patient satisfaction. The steps that can be taken to provide this upmost care is to always have the patient’s wellbeing at mind. As a nurse, you should always try to put yourself in the patient's position and think about how you would like to be treated if you were in their position. Yes, this requires an extra effort from the nurse, but it shows the patient that you do care about their wellbeing rather than seeing them as just another patient coming through. This, in turn, will allow for a better nurse and patient relationship. Allowing the patient to be able to be more open and relaxed around the nurse. When the patient goes home at the end of the day, he or she will leave with a positive experience and a better outlook on healthcare providers in general. Like Michael Moore said, “they live in a world of we, not me” I feel we should pursue our career as a healthcare provider with such morals.