Some years ago, my primary-care physician told me he was so angry because the HMOs wouldn't let him practice medicine the way he was taught and the way he knew he should be taking care of his patients. "Band-aids instead of cures," he said.

It is a grievous offense against humanity to let the pharmaceutical and insurance companies treat the American people in this manner in order to fill up their already-full coffers.

Kudos to Michael Moore!

"And Moore himself is heading to New Hampshire to challenge the Democratic presidential candidates."

Too bad he can't actually be an actual poser of
questions at a debate. Now THAT would be a great
show!

The activities of the health insurance industry fit well within universal and common understanding of criminal behavior. But when you write the laws, you are not going to outlaw your own behavior, especially that which is profitable, now are you?

This is a small part of this huge mess ... but an important one: As a human resources employee, I talk with many women in my company who want to know why our health insurance does not cover birth control pills but it DOES cover erectile dysfunction pills. I tell them - because men make the rules and because men want their "fun" paid for. Four decades ago my uncle said "Insurance is our greatest obscenity." Still true today. I support Michael Moore in everything he does.

It's not just the healthcare (delivery and management) system that needs to be changed, it's mainstream healthcare itself. Bring Naturopathic, Chiropractic, Acupunture, and Homeopathic medicine to the forefront of healthcare and reserve allopathic, "modern", drugs and surgery, high-tech medicine, with all it's attendant side effects, risks, and extreme expense, for only the specific cases where it really is needed.

Even if we had

I wish I heard more discussion about this:

Right Wing White Corporate America if that's democratic you can keep it we've got good health care in Britain and the majority of people want nothing to do with America

Americans continue to vote for unfettered free markets, the lie of "trickle down economics", tax cuts and other mechanisms which ensure the transfer of wealth from the poor to the already wealthy.
This is what needs to change.

Universal healthcare free at the point of delivery is not a "big government" bogeyman, but an essential component of a modern society. It's a no brainer. [I'd say the same about gun control, but apparently that is too controversial for our friends over the pond.]

I'm a health care refugee. I applied for immigration to Canada in March 2005 and moved here May 2006. I expect the cost of immigration and moving to be made up within three years, from reduced health care costs, and we are receiving better health care here than we ever did in the US.

You'll sometimes hear anecdotal stories about Canadians heading south for health care because of long waiting times or other hassles. I'm not saying those stories are fake -- just remember my story next time you hear about how bad things are here! And there are many more stories like mine. Every single Canadian I know value their health care system.

We are choosing a simple life. In the US, we would be called "poor," and we'd have to spend a quarter of our income on health insurance. Here, we are looked up to as "frugal" and can live comfortably on $12,000 a year, and are helping others work toward a similar life-style. http://www.EcoReality.org

(Of course, there are a few other reasons we moved besides health insurance... :-)

I can see it now..
"Americans Migrating to countries that actually care about them -- maybe even Cuba!"

Veterans go to Canada as political refugees.. and the rest of us who migrate out will be healthcare horror refugees.

Sadly, it's going to be alot more complex than just saying "we need national health care".

Getting true health care reform is going to require slaying a monster with three heads:

1) The huge health insurance industry

2) Campaign finance reform

3) Corporate-controlled main-stream media

Each of these is inter-related and supports the other. It's more than a question of just "reforming health care", it is a question of reform of some of our most basic institutions, government and media.

And to top it all off--there is the need to address the basic attitude of people in this country i.e "if it makes money, you don't make apologies" (let alone try to reform it). And health care is VERY good at making money for certain people.

My brother works for a public relations firm whose clients are some of the largest HMOs in the country. He told me that these HMOs are already totally freaked about Moore's film coming out, and are holding big pow-wows with his company about how they can counter this from a public-relations point of view. Basically, they are going to do a repeat of the early 1990's campaign that defeated the Clinton plan:

Scary stories about how "people are dying in Canada because they can't get care"

Horror stories about how people will have to plead with government bureaucrats to get necessary care.

These companies are prepared to spend whatever it takes to get the American public against true health care reform. And with the compliant media, they know they won't be challenged on that end. Example: I live in Nebraska, and we have one major daily paper for the entire state. The owner/publisher is a golf partner and country club buddy with the CEO of one of the midwest's largest health insurance companies. You think he's going to put anything in his rag praising the merits of a health care system that completely cuts-out the insurance industry?

I really truly hope Mike's film makes a difference, but I am not hopeful.

Moore's latest will be dismissed as just more anti-American liberal propaganda be the MSM. Too bad Michael Moore can't/won't get someone the media loves, like Tom Hanks or Steven Spielberg to front his movies. Maybe then they wouldn't be dismissed as liberal propaganda.

The American has been taught to believe Democracy = Capitalism, when if fact the opposite is true. Slavery, as in the masters controlling every aspect of of lives, loves, and deaths, is more alive in the US today that it ever was in the plantation south.

Yeah blcksmth: all those whining 20 million little kids with no insurance with the ear infection that they can't treat because their parents don't keep $1000 bucks in their billfolds to pay up-front for the ear doctor and the medicine.

I say: make the free-loading little f**kers get a job at Wal-Mart! Give 'em free lessons on how to invest in the stock market and make their $$$ there! Too bad they couldn't have inherited everthing like you did, but then I guess you would just tell them "tough sh*t!"

The United Nations ranks the U.S. at #38 in health care. They carefully considered a whole host of factors in coming up with this ranking.

Of course, I am sure that you think the U.N. is sh*t, Michael Moore is sh*t, people dying because they can't afford medical care (20000/year according to some statistics) is ok, so why are you even on this webiste?

Michael Moore is asking for BIG trouble. As long as you restrict your activities to holding protests you are ok. Once you begin talking about making fundamental changes to the way corporations make money in America, you become a real threat. As president, JFK was fine until he began talking about ending the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was the source of very lucrative contracts for many corporations. Martin Luther King Jr. was no threat as long as he remained in the realm of civil rights. Near the end of his life, Dr. King began organizing all poor people to challenge status quo. This made him a threat to the system. His subsequent assassination ended the movement to empower the poor. It is interesting to note that mainstream media never mentions the latter part of Dr. King's life. He is always presented as a civil rights leader only. Bobby Kennedy was dealt with in the same manner. His presidency would have challenged the way that corporations make money in the United States.
Michael Moore is following a similar track. He is making a direct challenge to some of the most powerful corporations in America, big Pharma and insurance companies. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Yes, folks, Canada has (gasp!) socialized medicine. But it is quickly slipping out of our grasp, thanks to NAFTA. The "deep integration" phase of NAFTA is almost completed and ready to go. That means that all of Canada's social programs must be brought into line with America's. If you folks would rather bring your programs in line with ours, the first step is to rid ourselves of NAFTA. Deep integration will also put our water up for sale -- to America, of course. Wow, is our corporate elite ever drooling over the profits to be made from all you thirsty Americans in the south-west -- just as your HMOs are drooling at the thought of 33 million more suckers north of the 49th. A majority of Canadians would rather SHARE our water with thirsty Americans than sell it, as we believe that water is a human right. So if you don't wanna hafta break the bank for a drink of water, let's get an anti-NAFTA campaign going.

We have been total fools to put up with the health care non-system we have had in this country for decades while the rest of the developed world opted for universal health coverage years ago. We spend so much more per capita for health care, yet over forty million Americans lack insurance coverage, and even those who do have it find it is inadequate when they need it. Private insurers and pharmaceutical companies are profiteering and laughing all the way to the bank at our expense. Our representatives (are they REALLY??) are totally complicit, because they are bought off by the the pharms and insurers who fund their election campaigns. They make the laws, and they must be held responsible. If the law changes to make health care non-profit and single payer universal coverage we can get rid of the private insurers and join the other advanced countries.

SPARLINX: Why the big fear tactics about standing up sounds like you are already a person who has been silenced by big brother! What do any of us have to lose-only our freedoms which are being taken from us as most the world watches American Idol. (Jordan Sparks by the way was my favorite!)
Stand up make noise- shake your fist in big brothers face and say IM MAD AS HELL AND IM NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! At least as they fit you for the orange jumpsuit you'll know you made a noise- a sweet noise before you were water boarded!! OH well I get your point SPARLINX just not ready to accept it though!!!

The purpose of insurance is to "pool the risk". This is based on the idea that, for example, every year, 10 people out of a population of 1000 require hospitalization at a cost of $10,000 each for a total of $100,000. Noone knows exactly which 10 people will get sick but we do know that 95% of them cannot pay the $10,000 bill. SO, all 1000 people agree to pay $102 per year into an insurance pool. The net pool is then $102,000 which is used to pay the predicted $100,000 in hospital bills plus $2,000 for administration. Thus, hospitalization is available to everyone in the pool. This works as long as the pool is managed by honest,competent administrators who answer to the people who own the pool. This concept is the basis for Medicare and it works as designed with extremely low rates of fraud,mafeasance and operating overhead. It does require premium adjustments (taxes) from time to time, based on actuarial calculations. All other industrialized nations (and certain others, like Cuba) employ some version of this pattern.

The system fails when ownership of the pool is corporatized as we have allowed in the U.S. This divides the pool into many smaller pools which creates incentives to:

1."Cherry-pick" the people allowed into a pool to, in essence, sell the policy to those who are least likely to need it and exclude the others.

2. Manipulate policy structure to limit coverage and deny claims.

3. Collude with providers to cut costs with little regard for best medical practice.

4. Spend a huge percentage of the pool's income for non-medical items such as:
> marketing
> advertising
> legal fees to defend malfeasance
> lobbying and other bribes
> and, of course, profits and executive bonuses

This is the result of transferring control and regulation of the citizen's welfare from the citizen's government to corporations.

The great irony of these and other ills that have become rampant in the U.S. in the past 20 years is that they so closely match the predictions of the propagandists for the old Soviet Union. Of course, the USSR had an even worse track record because it had an even higher concentration of corruption and incompentence. But, we're catching up.
####

RW brings up an important point. While I totally agree with Michael Moore that everyone should have free access to healthcare, it is also important to realize that what is often called "healthcare" is really profiting unnecessarily from sickness. In his book "Mirage of Health" Ivan Illich pointed out that one hundred years ago 90 percent of people died at home. Today, 90 percent die in the hospital. The result--we die in the most expensive, painful and humiliating way imaginable. The same can be said of birth. In countries like the Netherlands and Denmark where the vast majority of births take place at home with midwives, women have less painful, traumatic births, better outcomes for both mothers and babies (less complications for both), and no giant medical bill to pay off. Low tech solutions to health problems like herbalism, naturopathy, breastfeeding infants for two or more years, encouaging moderate exercise and good nutrition, stopping air pollution and removing toxins like lead paint from homes, are either ignored or (in the case of "alternative"--non allopathic--therapies) outlawed.

"One more time, a bunch of people whining to have someone else pay their bills…

Single payer system like Canada and Great Britain. Year-long waits to get operations. Really efficient."

Blksmth

You miss the point that we do all pay for universal health care, through taxes. I would much rather contribute to universal coverage than to many things our government is spending on.

I lived in the London for 14 years and never had a problem, or suffered at the hands of, the NHS. Is it perfect? DUH…of course not. Does it provide every single person in that country the means to see a doctor, to take their kids to the Dr, to get immunizations, to receive the basics of care, without threat of bankruptcy? YES.

From what I have read and heard, though, I do hope that Moore's film is balanced. As I note above, the NHS is not perfect. Those who want to opt out and get private insurance can do so. It is not all singing and dancing holy perfection but by god, the difference between here and there is immense, and I would much rather deal with those imperfections than the ones so evident in our system here.

Michael Moore for President!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'nuff said.

Yes Michael Moore, the insurance industry are the pimps of the medical care system. I have hypertension (high blood pressure) which when medicated is almost normal. Before my wife and I retired my prescriptions cost well over $100 a month covered under her employee group health insurance - god know what it would have cost without the insurance. We live in Mexico now and my prescriptions run less than $12.00 a month - same stuff, same results.
One other post I want to address:"Bring Naturopathic, Chiropractic, Acupunture, and Homeopathic medicine to the forefront of healthcare" I worked in the Health care industry for 40 years. I am not against nauruopathic, Chiropractic or acupunture and I have met and used many of them but in general they do not know their limits. I have seen several patients being treated incorrectly by Homeopaths who's advice led patients to an early death. There are all kinds of ancedotal wonders of naturopathy and supplements but unlike mainstream medicine there is no peer group review of procedures or "medications". Yes there are some whacko magazines for all of the pseudosciences, each quoting the other as a source. I think these services come more under the heading of "faith" than proven healing

blcksmth:

"Also when was the last time Europe was the primary inventor of new medicines, equipment and processes. 60-70 years."

Six of the top ten pharma companies in the world are European. Get your facts right. Typical arrogant American.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_50_pharmaceutical_companies

Healthcare isn't about "cures", it's about profit. How can there be profit if the disease is cured? All the money that goes into research is for drugs that will sustain an illness. Along with the premiums the insurance agencies get, it's one big boondoggle. Watch how much the lobbyists spend to kill any chances of a single-payer system. They'll hide the fact that the current cost of the uninsured is far greater than any cost for universal coverage.

blcksmth,

This is not simply a case of asking someone else to pay one's bills. Did you forget that we, as citizens, pay taxes and expect certain services in return? The UN (and most other industrialized nations) includes access and availability of healthcare in their definition of basic rights. Governments are in place to protect its citizens and provide basic rights/necessities; is healthcare not a right everyone should be afforded? It's sad that so many people have forgotten what they, the taxpayers, are entitled to.

blcksmth;

The whole idea of reforming the US healthcare system is to cut out the huge amounts of money the insurance industry skims off the top.It doesn't mean people won't pay for their own care. It's called sharing sir-just as our taxes pay for other rights like education and highways.If you don't consider healthcare a right then there's no reasoning with you.
As for Tennessee's failed experiment-don't know the details but-a relatively poor state would have little chance to succeed on their own.
To all:
Yes-the insurance industry spent many millions to sabotage Mrs. Clinton's plan. Can you imagine their debate going on now to undermine "Sicko?" "Do we mock Moore's size?" Hope they do-enough of us are fat-such tactics could backfire bigtime.
Re American's health in general-after 50 years of pushing sugar loaded cereals on kids-the cereal companies are making minor improvements.Maybe there is hope.

"One more time, a bunch of people whining to have someone else pay their bills.
Tennessee tried one-payer system and almost went broke."

Hey blcksmth,
Cool down, the one-payer system here in France has been working for decades and this country is far from broke.
There is no waiting for important operations, the hospitals are excellent, coordination between services, quality treatment and business is brisk. It can work in America, but there is an insidious cancer of insurance moguls who do not want to be cut out, but they must go, adapt or die.

blcksmth:

"Also when was the last time Europe was the primary inventor of new medicines, equipment and processes. 60-70 years."

As a personal data point to add to the discussion, I can say that I had to turn to European eye doctors (particularly an excellent one in Belgium) to get effective treatment for a condition which is pooh-poohed and minimized by most American doctors. The American doctors do this for several reasons, including an insane malpractice system in the US, subjugation to US insurance industry standards, insanely long US approval processes, and in some cases sheer lack of compassion. Most significantly, the procedures and tools/equipment used by the Belgian doctor were largely innovated in Europe. My local US doctor told me that a certain lens implant I may receive in Belgium isn't even available in the US, had not been seen by him before.

The pattern I have consistently observed, in dealing with my medical problems, is that, these days, much of the innovative stuff gets done in Europe first, eventually trickling into the US, or maybe not.

When I was in college in the late 1940's I was converted from ignorant Rep. to a less-ignorant Dem. One of the influences in that conversion was a professor who said, among other things, that nobody should have the power to say "your money or your life".

in canada you may have to wait a bit for a knee replacement, but if you have a pressing issue you get first class care, no matter what your financial situation. we do have some problems, but there is quality care for all. there is free coverage for those less fortunate. up here we are proud of our social justice.

From 48 years of ex-pat personal and family experience, when it comes to the Canadian, high quality, caring, universal, single payer health system, the United States should be on its hands and knees begging to become Canada's 11th Province.

Juan Siglo

What is it going to take for what makes the medical system appear to fail, is that it does exsacly what the "Capatalest" system soposed to do,Capitalis on needs of the people. Other wise it becomes a different isum.

If we are the only developed country in the world without single-payer,universal coverage, government owned and run medical care and we rank 39 in overall quality of health care then what better proof does anyone need that this idea is worth a try?

I have actually seen SiCKO and Moore's target audience is clearly not just the 50 million uninsured but the 250 million who have insurance and think they have adequate health care when they probably do not. Again, it's fear that keeps us content and reluctant to change.

Interestingly, there is a point in the movie where a lady tells us that in France the government is afraid of its people, whereas in America, the people are afraid of it's government. Isn't the French model what democracy is all about?

This morning on our local TV news, ch6 from Portland Maine, they announced that the cost of health insurance for city workers will almost double shortly. For family coverage it will go from $116 a week to $219 a week. The workers will need to pick up most of the increase on their own.

I am totally for universal health care. When HMO's and Managed care came into being in the early 90's, everyone knew this was just a gold rush for insurance companies.

As a practicing psychologist (before I quit due to managed care practices) I fought this theft from both patients AND doctors, psychiatrists, and mental health pofessionals for years. I have been a "provider" and a consumer and understand how this game is played. This has only been all about profits for the big companies. Doctors and therapists enter into "one way" horrible contracts with the companies or they face the threat that hundreds of thousands of people in the "networks" won't be able to see them, effective putting them out of business. Insurance companies slashed fees down to the bare bone...many hospitals can barely run on what they get for services. The individual professional gets their fee hacked in half, and they still have to cover overhead, staff salaries, ever increasing costs of malpractice insurance..all these costs rise every year, while payment for service goes down down down. Most of the docs retired early, changed professions or opted out of the staggering amount of paperwork and limits on how they can practice. For mental health, fees were brought down for years, until there were no psychiatrists to refer people to, or hospitals to take those at risk. We were making a secretary's salary with PhD's and mucho experience. Our clients were stuck with 5 sessions at a time, which is not enough to get to know someone you are working with on a most personal level.

I quit after 11 years, when a client lost her son to suicide because managed care would not admit him to a hospital, even though he told them he had a plan, the means, and had prepared for his death. He was 27.

I sent my stories to Michael Moore, willingly and gratefully. Thank heavens he is a brave man. If anything happens to him, we will know just who did it.

.......blcksmth June 20th, 2007 1:34 pm: You should know the facts before you comment.

I lived in the UK for a few years and never had to wait 'years' for any medical care through the NHS (National Health Care Service) nor have I ever had to go without medication because Rx are also paid for. It's paid for through taxes. Everyone who works pay taxes and still the quality of life is better in the UK. I'm back in the US & am now forced to go without some of the medication that I need because I lost my job due to a back surgery that requires a long recovery period.... and after 6 months lost my Healthcare Insurance as I was dropped. I could not go for physical Therapy because of no insurance. I did not have the money to go for my 6 month follow up and x-ray to make sure all of the screws & rods are in place and the bone graft is healing. And you know what??? I pay taxes here too......I just don't have anything to show for it !!! I plan to move back to the UK; thankfully I am married to a British Citizen so I can go back.

Thank You Michael Moore !!!!

"Look at Tennessee" was a good suggestion. While looking, I found these educative links:

U.S. Health Insurance Costs
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2005/06/30/the_best_corporate_health_plan.php

Failure of Tennessee's Healthcare Plan
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=571

Some interesting things about Tennessee's brave effort --

First, it was not universal. It covered 25% of the population, thus was loaded with above average risks.

Second, Tennessee has no income tax, needed one (2.5% was suggested) to cover the plan, and riots broke out. The 75% who weren't in the plan still had the vote.

Third, Tennessee's plan was way too small to break the HMOs and Big Pharma to get costs down. It takes national clout to negotiate with these bozos, which is what Canada does.

And speaking of Canada: I had to wait seven months to have a cataract operation. On the other hand, after it began behaving badly I had a mole removed and biopsied in 48 hours.

The management of Canada's healthcare system has never been in the hands of the social democrats who pioneered it on the provincial level. Only militant public awareness and pressure has kept it strong in the face of government indifference or hostility.

We must get the corrupt greed ridden Insurance Companies out of the Health Care System..!

A Single Payer System is the way to go..!

This is even known by many of what's left of American industries as they cannot compete internationally carrying this burden..!

It's not only the morally right thing to do it is also the economic correct thing to do..!

THEN WE MUST NATIONALIZE THE AMERICAN OIL INDUSTRY..!

These two things will help America become a modern competitive nation, and rid us of so much of the corrupting influence of these two sources of money buying off our politicians..!

Michael Moore is right about the Insurance Companies and this come from the son of the ex-head of Litigation for State Farm Ins..he says the same thing get the Insurance Companies out of our Health Care..!

Why haven't Edwards, Obama or Clinton or any other so called Democrats called for Single Payer Health Care..?

Only Kucinich is right on this issue..!

Soon a very contagious disease will be spread all over the countries that do not have health care for everyone. The U.S. has created a pool of people in which a disease can incubate under ideal conditions. Blame will be placed everywhere except where it belongs. People with no health care have no preventative care for contagious diseases.

Doctors have given up their right to practice medicine to insurance companies that daily practice medicine without a license and without even seeing the patient. They deserve blame too.

Free health care is given to prisoners. More people who are very sick will commit a crime to get free health care. There has been at least one case that I remember hearing on tv (Lou Dobbs??????) A guy with a chronic condition got a judge to give him enough prison time to reach Medicare age by committing the right crime.

The best part is that our partial system makes us economically uncompetitive and costs about twice what it should.

And blcksmth - the drug companies spend substantially more on advertising and political contributions than research.

I migrated to Australia a couple of years ago.

I made the decision to migrate shortly after seeing the planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11. I thought that 9/11's propaganda impact would be as great or greater than that of Pearl Harbor.

But also greatly influencing my decision to emigrate to Australia is the fact that Australia has a national health care system.

It is difficult to discuss healthcare with many Americans I find. I'm a Canadian born in Britain. Difficult,mainly, because the idea that the American way is perhaps not the best is anathema to most Americans.

All the facts in the world:
waiting lists in Canada are for non life- threatening illnesses. Three of my friends recently diagnosed with forms of cancer were operated on within a week.
you can choose any doctor you want. 12 doctor visits..you can choose 12 different doctors.
because it's 'free' people go endlessly to doctors. A few do but the mass majority do not. I see a doctor perhaps once every 2 years.

all the facts in the world will not sway the profound belief that "my way...American.. is the best way."

Unfortunately this cultural belief is what must change before there is pragmatic change in healthcare.

Blksmith...how small your mind. Have you ever considered that you are a car accident away from needing the help of others? You have lots of money? If you are disbled it won't last for long..I promise! Then...what do YOU do? If I were you, I damn sure wouldn't ASK for help. For one it might damage your ego, for two, you just might get what you don't deserve.

blcksmth June 20th, 2007 1:34 pm
"Single payer system like Canada and Great Britain. Year-long waits to get operations."
"Also when was the last time Europe was the primary inventor of new medicines, equipment and processes. 60-70 years."

- UK NHS health care admin costs are ONE QUARTER of the US system; the days of long painful waits for surgery - for what was a small proportion of patients anyway - are virtually over. That is because the massive cuts of the neo-con Thatcher have been reversed over the last 10 years. Subscriptions to the tiny private health care sector in the UK are at their lowest in 2 decades. 98% of people questioned on their OWN experience of health care give an 'excellent' rating.
- I can ALWAYS get an appointment with my Primary Health Care ('GP') doctor within 48 hours and usually quicker; I recently had a full dental check up, x-rays, 2 fillings, two root canal treatments and 2 crowns (all done under IV Sedation with a qualified IV sedation dentist in attendance in addition to the surgical dentist)- all for a payment of STG£189 (US$380). That would be FREE for everyone under 18/over65, pregnant women, and anyone in recent of income-based welfare benefits.
- Didn't you know that the UK Pharmaceutical Industry is one of the most advanced in the world and second only to the US?????

Our system is far from perfect but I have had THREE sisters suffer very serious cancer and their completely free treatment was exemplary; the nursing care so personal, compassionate and offered by people who became like friends to the whole family; respite care for each of them in Hospices when their partners needed a break, of a standard that couldn't be better private.

You know full well that unless you have a very high cost insurance policy in the US - mediacid and medicare provides often impersonal, rushed and 2nd rate treatment for the very poor or below average income elderly. And for those who are above medicare income levels, then treatment is both at risk of being poor but still incurring huge life long debt.

The US system is crazy and the fact that the infant mortality rate in Cuba is very SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER than in the US (despite 47 years of a nasty economic embargo) shows how awful the US is in terms of such an important service.

For goodness sake 60% of WALMART workers cannot even AFFORD to pay the Walmart Medical insurance!

Sheesh what world do some of you posters like blcksmth live in - MARS it sounds like.

At the end of the day, for-profit healthcare is simply immoral. Americans seem to have been brainwashed into believing that any and all products and services for every person can be best and most efficiently provided via the capitalist free market system. However, in the case of healthcare (and probably many more important services), I don't feel it is anywhere near efficient or - more importantly - noble and fair to only provide it to those who can afford to pay for it. In a purely capitalist market the owners and shareholders of the companies who provide healthcare will always demand (and get) the maximum profit that the market will bear. So, they will do everything in their power to maximize the profits thru such immoral activities as disallowing lifesaving drugs and procedures that are deemed too expensive for their investment return. They will ALWAYS put profit ahead of the health and care of the patient because that is the capitalist way of maximizing their return on investment. They know that they have the ultimate captive consumer because EVERYONE will need healthcare at one time or another and will pay anything they have to to get it for themselves or their loved ones. The truly sad thing about the American health care crisis is that those who are so against the government as a single (not for profit) provider of healthcare thru corporate and citizen taxes don't understand that they ARE already paying for healthcare thru multiple taxes (medicare & medicade, for example). Unfortunately, a vast majority of these taxpayers are not allowed access to any of the healthcare that they are paying for with these mandatory taxes...

Were universal coverage enacted, by some miracle (Congress is owned by HMOs and state regulators as well: http://www.healthdemocracy.org/painsure.html), we will need an army of activists to defend single-payer from inevitable attacks, just as organic food standards have been defended by grassroots campaigns.

That's why I've started genuinely nonprofit co-op health plans, whose members pay a tiny annual membership fee for an ever-expanding range of everyday emergencies: http://www.healthdemocracy.org

I am a Prostate Cancer survivor. Not because of the U. S. healthcare system, thank you very much! But in spite of it…
After my diagnosis (3/24/06) all the different 'experts in the field' recommended 'Knives, Rays and Chemicals'. No one suggested prudence…
I joined several PC Survivors groups and I immediately noticed how my peers were 'herded' into making drastically life-changing decisions which would instantly ruin their futures as human beings, as proud males. Some were as 'old' as 48 years young!
All I saw at the other side of the doctor's desk was a $ sign: Hippocrates was NOWHERE in sight!!!
I have started a movement to promote 'Dynamic Surveillance' which puts the patient 'in the driver's seat'. It has been growing since. Still, some of my own colleagues refute my 'doing NOTHING' and some even call me crazy. Michael Moore knows what it is to go 'against the tide', I salute you… Keep on Truckin'!
In April 07 I had my ONE year visit to my urologist and I asked him point blank:
Am I really crazy? Should I be heeding all the nay-sayers warnings?
Get a load of his answer:
'You are ahead of the times'
Do you know that most of the other FIRST world countries consider the U S 'BARBARIC', when it comes to treating Prostate Cancer?
Keep up the good work. I predict that in the not-too-distant future the whole medical community will adopt the very same things you ARE doing. Congratulations!
(This from a guy who makes his living chopping-off my peers).

Just the other day I got an e-mail thanking me profusely for standing my ground and for saving this guy's quality of life… By the way one of his options had been suicide!
There I've spilled the beans !

Rebel WITH a cause.

blcksmth: It is more than obvious to all of us posting here that you either haven't the faintest idea of what you're talking about, and/or you're here simply to disinform and curtail honest discussion.

Oh yes, isn't the US Health NON care system great. Don't have enough money to pay your hospital bills lose your home, your life insurance and even your cemetery plot! My sister-in-law is going through hell because her Mom has Alzheimers and after much prodding failed to sign her house over to the kids. Too late now kid. So, she is ineligible for Medicade (too much money...) and since she has to be put in a Nursing Home they're ("care" providers) after all her assets. My Dad died this past February from Alzheimer related causes, but fortunately all the kids had the property signed over to us. Otherwise, Mom would have been out on the street. It just pisses me off that they can come in and take everything you've worked for all your life. What the hell is wrong with this country.

zooeyhall,I am from Nebraska also and realize the problems we have with progressive attitudes here. You did a fine job of setting blcksmith straight on the whiners who think they could use a little help tostay alive. Folks, we may as well face it though, ever since Ronnie Reagen convinced the majority of people in the US that government is the problem and not the solution, liberal thoughts have been sneered at very sucessfully. Also his idea that the rich were paying far more than their share of taxes and had to have a cut to survive started the move toward where we are today. About all we have left is to buy a drug stock and wait for the trickle-down economy to take care of us. (Don`t hold your breath). Even though most intelligent people realize single payer works fine as in Social Security and Medicare if funded properly. Sadly, big money will continue to rule unless we have a major event as a calamitous depression or severe epidemic.However we should continue to try to help in any way we can as people are going to be dying without care.