Introduction
Michael Moore, in his film SiCKO, advocates for socialized medicine in America. Michael believes that socialized medicine helps in the delivery of medical care to everyone who needs it. Moore highlights some of the issues related to healthcare in the United States, including the inequality in healthcare insurance coverage among American citizens. The review focuses on the ethical principles that were violated and how they were violated by the individuals featured in the movie, and what could be done to help the American healthcare system.
Main body
The focus in SiCKO is on the health insurance sector and organizations that have been established to be primarily interested in maximizing profit and less focused on patient care. The film compares the healthcare system in the United States with that of Canada. Moore manages to expose the broken healthcare system and the violation of ethical principles in the U.S through scenes such as the part where someone with a gnashed knee has to sew up himself since he cannot cater for the cost. In a separate incident, doctors from insurance companies confess to being paid bonuses to dismiss claims for medical treatment to maximize profits. A medical reviewer testifies before the American Congress and admits to being told that he did not deny care, but instead, he denied payment (Rosenthal, 2020). Moore carefully selects the facts that support his storyline and dismisses those that are not in line with his plot.
More tends to favor socialized Medicare similar to those offered in England, Canada, and France. More pays a visit to a bourgeois family who is proud to showcase their luxurious home and beach sand collections from across the world in an attempt to prove that universal healthcare did not impoverish the French citizens. However, Moore overlooks the tax rates in France that support their generous health care framework (Huerlimann et al., 2018). Among the most controversial scenes in SiCKO is when Moore pays a visit to an emergency department in London, Ont. Moore interviews several people on how long they have had to wait in line in an attempt to dismiss the allegations of delay in the Canadian healthcare system. Most patients had waited in line for a maximum of 45 minutes. Moore explains in a newspaper interview that the aim of the film was not to illustrate the Canadian system in a balanced approach. The inaccurate illustration, in this case, indicates one fundamental truth of the American health care system, which is if one needs healthcare, one will get it. However, this is not the case. On the other hand, the Canadians have an issue with their health system regarding how it is delivered, which drives their desire for the private American healthcare system (“Is Canada the right model for a better U.S. health care system?,” 2017). SiCKO helps to highlight the shortcomings of a healthcare system whose bottom line is determined by the profitability of a private healthcare provider.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the American healthcare system could be improved if medical insurance could be purchased outside the workplace, as is the case with other types of insurance. Changes in tax law could be instrumental in improving the affordability and portability of insurance. Reforms in the insurance sector, such as strategies that would increase competition among states, could help in reducing the premium cost and improve the quality of patient care. The scarce allocation of health care resources would improve with an enhanced alignment in individual health decisions and medical care consumption.
References
Huerlimann, G., Brownlee, W. E., & Ide, E. (Eds.). (2018). Worlds of taxation: The political economy of taxing, spending, and redistribution since 1945. Palgrave Macmillan.
Is Canada the right model for a better U.S. health care system? (2017). Knowledge@Wharton. Web.
Rosenthal, M. S. (2020). The Unethical American Healthcare System: Sicko (2007). In Healthcare ethics on film: A guide for medical educators. Springer Nature. Web.