'Sicko' is boffo' -- Jack Mathews (NY Daily News, 6/19/07)

Vital signs strong for Moore's health care documentary--

MrKen is planning to view Michael Moore's film essay, "Sicko", which takes on America's profoundly profitable and catastrophically inefficient health care system.

Some excerpts from Jack Mathews' review in the Daily News (6/19/07):

Anecdotal in nature, "Sicko" shows what's wrong with our health care system by comparing it with those in Canada, England and France, where universal health care is as ingrained in the social fabric as their national anthems.

Asked what would have happened in England if Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair had tried to dismantle the National Health Service, an elderly British statesman answers without pause, "There would have been a revolution."

In the U.S., politicians in the pockets of medical industry lobbyists respond to any universal health care movement by screaming, "Socialism!" And, as Hilary Clinton learned, it works...

...this is a picture about the big picture, showing that the U.S., while investing far more money in health care than any other country, ranks 38th in the world in effectiveness - far, far behind every other Western industrialized nation.

The reason for this poor return is that most of the money ends up in the bank accounts of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies, both of which are driven to improve the financial health of their stockholders...

...insurance company examiners ...find reasons not to approve claims, even if the patient is fatally ill...

...In England, where the motto is "Pay according to your means, get treated according to your needs," government-paid doctors receive bonuses for improving the health of their patients. What a concept.

Follow this link to read the full review: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2007/06/19/2007-06-19_sicko_is_boffo.html