[HM2Viking]

Health care advances in Cuba
According to the Associated Press as cited in the Post article, "Cuba has made recent advancements in biotechnology and exports its treatments to 40 countries around the world, raking in an estimated $100 million a year. ... In 2004, the U.S. government granted an exception to its economic embargo against Cuba and allowed a California drug company to test three cancer vaccines developed in Havana."

http://alternet.org/envirohealth/50911/?page=1

[ProudGayRN]

Originally Posted by HM2Viking

http://alternet.org/envirohealth/50911/?page=1

Thank you Viking for this information - Its good to know how our good friend the dictator Fidel Castro is doing in the communist country of Cuba. I am sure the hospitals and doctors in cuba completely BLOW AWAY ANYTHING WE HAVE IN THE UNITED STATES!! After all, we are talking about Cuba here right? The bastion of freedom and progress in medicine.... I am still waiting for your report on Hugo Chavez and Che Guevara...email me when it comes out - Thanks.

[HM2Viking]

"Sicko" posits an uncontroversial, if not incontrovertible, proposition: The health care system in the U.S. is sick.
...
The movie begins with horror stories. So much so that Moore is not always able to lighten things up with his usual brand of comedy. But he does manage some sick humor as he recounts the travails not only of the 47 million uninsured Americans but also of those who think they have health insurance, paid for with years of premiums, only to be denied a medical procedure they desperately need.
...
Indeed it is. Tales unravel about how a successful medical claim is called a "medical loss" by the insurance industry and how denying claims can lead to promotions in that industry. The film details how the health industry spent more than $100 million to defeat President Clinton's universal health care package and currently maintains four D.C. lobbyists for every member of Congress.
...

Moore takes up the challenge, going not only to Canada but also to Britain and France to ask. In Canada he encounters a man who caught a hockey puck the wrong way and sliced off all the fingers on his hand. "Socialized medicine" put the fingers back. By contrast, an American who sliced off only two finger tips was told one tip would cost $60,000 to repair but the other only $12,000.
He chose the $12,000 operation.
...
In France, the search for pre-existing conditions has dramatically different implications than in the U.S.: Whereas American insurance companies scrutinize enrollment forms for signs of a pre-existing condition that wasn't disclosed so as to deny a claim, in France it is to determine potentially better or even preventive treatment.

http://www.reuters.com/article/revie...1?pageNumber=2

[battpos]

Originally Posted by HM2Viking

http://www.reuters.com/article/revie...1?pageNumber=2

How Un-American of you to hold up France, of all places as an example to us. Don't you know we are in a war against the terrorists? I bet you don't even have a ribbon magnet on your SUV! You probably are aiding and abetting illegal aliens too! You are the reason Taco Bell had to pay an extra penny per bushel to those illegal aliens and forego giving their CEO an extra million dollars last year!
Shame on you!

[ingelein]

Originally Posted by battpos

How Un-American of you to hold up France, of all places as an example to us. Don't you know we are in a war against the terrorists? I bet you don't even have a ribbon magnet on your SUV! You probably are aiding and abetting illegal aliens too! You are the reason Taco Bell had to pay an extra penny per bushel to those illegal aliens and forego giving their CEO an extra million dollars last year!
Shame on you!

You're kidding , right?

[zahryia]

I'm sure she is.

[VivaLasViejas]

I agree that the so-called health care "system" in this country is broken and in desperate need of overhaul.

However, I don't believe Michael Moore is the right messenger for this particular crusade. His politics are problematic, for one thing; he's so far to the left of mainstream America that his credibility is questionable at best. And as a Hollywood type, he lacks the gravitas to make the case for universal health care.

In my mind, what's needed to take this fight to the level of attention it deserves is "spokespeople" who are neither celebrities nor political extremists. I doubt MM has a clue about what it's like to have to choose between paying the electric bill and taking a sick child to the doctor, or to file for bankruptcy because your wages are being garnished to pay medical bills incurred in the past. Give me someone who's 'been there, done that'.........and has an idea about how to fix it, rather than just complaining.

Just my two cents' worth.

[margaretptz]

Been there, done that and I welcome MM interventions as no one else seems to be doing anthing about it. Can't wait to see the movie.

[CHATSDALE]

not much respect for mm..hates americans as much as rosie

[NurseguyFL]

I disagree. I don't think its necessary to be a victim of the US health care system to tell a story about it. My opinion of Michael Moore is that he's more of a story-teller than a messenger, and when it comes to Hollywood movies, the more controversial the story, the more movie tickets they can sell.

I don't believe that MM intends to 'fight' anything or to complain. All he's doing is putting the story out there. MM may be far to the left, but I bet 'Sicko' is going to be a huge smash at the box office.