Sicko is the latest documentary by Michael Moore, who has achieved notoriety (and, some may say, infamy) for his films Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine. In Sicko, Moore examines the American healthcare system and compares it to other countries.
It should come as no surprise to those familiar with Moore's work that he takes a very strong, politically liberal position on the issue of healthcare, favoring socialized, universal healthcare over the system we have currently in place. However, even if you disagree with Moore, this film is worth watching for its chilling and disturbingly accurate portrayal of the failings of healthcare in America. Perhaps Canada, Great Britain, France, and Cuba don't have all the answers – but in examining the way they do things, Moore forces us to look in the mirror and seriously question the way we take care of our own citizens.
Moore wisely stays behind the camera and lets real Americans tell the story of our broken healthcare system. You may want to bring your tissues for some of these stories:
Financially crippled by co-pays and deductibles, one couple must sell their family home and move into their daughter's basement.
Another woman has her health insurance retroactively cancelled because she forgot to disclose on her application that she had years ago suffered from a common yeast infection which was completely resolved with a prescription cream.
Doctors believe a man suffering from kidney cancer could be saved with a bone marrow transplant procedure, which is denied by his insurer. His family cannot afford the procedure out-of-pocket, so he forgoes care and dies shortly thereafter, leaving behind his wife and young son.
A young mother calls 911 and has the ambulance rush her feverish 18-month-old daughter to the nearest emergency room, only to be denied care because it was a non-network hospital. By the time the insurance issue was straightened out, it was too late to save her daughter's life....