we finally watched m. moore's 'sicko' last night. in recent years, i had ventured away from listening to his impressions. a bit out of feelings of criticism, a bit out of feelings to put up my blinders and not want to know, and a bit of his focus not relaying to my current general interests.
however, this film about the rogue health care industry in the united states reinvigorated my thirst for knowledge outside of my sphere of topical interests. this exposé on our corrupt system of managed health care reinforced the general echoing burden of fear and feelings of helplessness that we have come to associate with reality in this country.
i can speak for myself, who i don't consider in anyway of possessing solely unique thoughts or feelings by any means--even though i have a acronym'd health care plan via work and my wife is covered under an individual policy that we procured, i have a lingering concern and doubt for the repercussions that would amount if either or both of us had to seek serious care. i have a lack of confidence that the insurance company would pick up the costs of whatever the circumstances warranted. am i alone in having these thoughts looming in the back of my mind?
it is enough to suffer from an ailment or a condition that that render you in need of medical care, but to have to be concerned as to how it will effect you financially seems ludicrous. is this not what health insurance was established to remedy? yes, but it has become a beast of burden as our attention waned and apathy grew away from having a sense of control and say over actions that have been and are being taken. that's where the helplessness comes in.
what can we as individuals do about any of this? action needs to happen from our legislators to propose solutions to this giant problem. we can, as organized individuals, encourage our legislators to focus on these concerns and devise solutions to remedy our health care system that no longer cares about we the people.
1 comment:
What about keeping the government out of it, and putting the power of public commerce back into play using valuable tools like Health Savings Accounts? If I have made myself responsible and accountable for my own health coverage, then I'm going to shop around for the best price and best service. Now, if me plus several million other people get this crazy idea, I think the system may be forced to correct its price points to survive.
I agree that it's ludicrous that one has to stress about the cost of treatment for ailments, but I disagree that it's the government's responsibility to do something about it. Why would I want any governing body whose modus operandi is "Lowest bidder wins" run or rule the medical industry? While Michael Moore presents some compelling examples, he fails to note some of the grotesque failings of nationalized health care, including absurd wait times for treatment, even in cases of life-threatening situations. The global joke about British dental health is ongoing for a very obvious reason.
I think there are better solutions than the government swooping in and giving us all blindfolds and telling us that they'll take care of it. Especially considering their resounding history of taking care of critical social issues. :)
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