...Shane Chikerema Ms. Lieberman M/W 10:10-11:40 Social problems Sicko Coming to the United States from a third world country you except to have a much better life than you would in your country. You expect the Government to care about your wellbeing. What many people fail to realize is that money trumps everything in the United States. For the most parts that is the truth in many countries but in America they put a lot more emphasis on money. After watching the movie sicko my observations were proved. This film really makes you question our health system here in the United States. I mean can you imagine going to the doctor with a bad injury and having to choose which limb you want to save just because the price to become completely healthy is too much that is what so many Americans go through. That is why I feel the American health care system is too uncompassionate and expensive. Considering the way the health care in Canada, France and England care for their citizens, I think the United States should show the same compassionate. I am sure if you ask any American to imagine walking to the hospital and walking away with no bill and I am pretty sure they will laugh at you. Why would the laugh you ask? Well that is because in America the health care system has absolutely no compassion for human beings. For example in the movie A Caucasian male went to the hospital to repair his fingers and because of money he had to choose which finger he wanted to operate on...
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...Even with prior knowledge of the American healthcare system and the corruptness of insurance companies, the documentary Sicko by Michael Moore was still able to shock me about the harsh realities people actually endure concerning their health and well being. I was so blown away with the stories that I actually imagining myself in those people’s situations. C. Wright Mills would say I was using the sociological imagination, which is the ability to see how individual experiences are connected to the larger society. In America we are raised to believe that our nation is the best in the world in every category. This documentary serves to tell otherwise. “People who like to avoid shocking discoveries, who prefer to believe that society is just what they were taught in Sunday school, who like the safety of the rules and the maxims of what Alfred Schuetz has called the “world-taken-for-granted,” should stay away from sociology” (Macionis and Benokraitis, 7) That quote can also be used to describe this film. We need to think outside of our own experiences in life, to truly understand society as a whole. Otherwise we will remain ignorant and heartless as most of health insurance companies in America. The U.S. healthcare system is ranked 37 out of 191 countries in the world. We need to use our sociological imagination to understand the different people affected, especially people like me who have had good enough insurance to cover my medical needs thus far in my life, of course nothing...
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...Ryan Jensen Paper #2, 201C 12/11/12 Mr. West Michael Moore’s Sicko: Good Health Equals Bad Business Senator John Kerry once said, “It is time to speak and stand up again for the ideal that in the richest nation ever on this planet, it is wrong for 41 million Americans, most of them in working families, to worry at night and wake up in the morning without the basic protection of health insurance (Health Care Quotes).” The United States of America is the wealthiest nation in the world and ranks number one in terms of health care spending per capita. It is also the only wealthy, industrialized country that doesn’t have a universal health care system. It’s. It ranks no higher than 36th in life expectancy, infant mortality and male and female mortality (Murray). So if the U.S. is spending so much on health care, why are we not seeing better results for its citizens health and what can we do to make it more efficient? In Michael Moore’s film Sicko, he shows us several people’s experiences with their respective countries health care system. He takes the viewers to countries such as France, England and even Cuba to show us other various types of health care systems. What I first noticed after watching this documentary was the different opinions and views regarding health care between Americans and people from foreign countries. Moore shows how the American point of view has a very condescending and distasteful outlook on how our health care system is ran. With the use of...
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...“Sicko” The 2007 documentary “Sicko” by Michael Moore address the different issues with American health care system. America’s health care system has been up for debate for quite some time now and still not much has changed. Michael Moore believes America’s health system is morally corrupt which is unreasonable for being the wealthiest country in the world. Throughout the film some of his main arguments include, the fact that the American health care system is subject to fraudulent decisions, aiming towards governmental funds, rather than the rights of American citizens. He also compares America’s health care system to others around the world, arguing that countries with the benefit of having health care are much better off than those that are not. Throughout the entire film, Moore is making an attempt to get through to the people of the middle class. He wants them to stand up for their constitutional right, health care. You don’t have to accept what they tell you, you should be aware of your rights. Moore uses many methods to support his argument that universal health care is better than government regulated health care. For example, he traveled around the United States to ask many different people about their health insurance. The most touching story was from a mother who lost her 4 year old because the hospital refused to care for the child due to lack of health insurance. If the government and insurance companies can refuse to give treatment to a mother and her sick child...
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...Sicko One of the main differences between the American healthcare system and the English healthcare system is, that in America the healthcare system is based on insurance. Often you have insurance through your job, but if you are unemployed you have to buy insurance privately, and it can be very expensive so many Americans do not have any insurance, and if you do not have insurance you do not get any treatment. In England you do not have to be insured, healthcare is free for all Englishmen, because the English healthcare system is financed through taxes. The insurance system in America is maybe an advantage for few people, but the people without a job and those who do not earn so much money are often without insurance, and therefore they either get no treatment, or they have to pay for the treatment themselves. Often the treatment costs several thousand dollars and they cannot afford the treatment. In the film we get that exemplified by a man, who had sawed off two fingers, and he had to choose between the two fingers, because he could not afford to get both fingers replaced. In the film we also see examples of people who have insurance, but they do not get any treatment, because the insurance companies have people employed to find reasons not to pay for the treatment. In England you always get the treatment you need, although you do not pay taxes. That means that the poorest people in England can expect to live longer than the wealthiest man in America. Another difference between...
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...Universal Healthcare Universal healthcare coverage has always been an issue in the United Sates. The current health system is affecting many Americans; therefore, it needs to be addressed were people have a full understanding of the subject. People are left without health insurance and treatment which is increasing illnesses, financial problems and death. It is of national importance that healthcare be provided because of the outcomes of uninsured people with chronic illnesses, lack of life expectancy, and decreased of poverty in the united states. Chronic illnesses are one of the top issues uninsured Americans face in the health care system. Patients with chronic illnesses receive fewer services because of the lack of insurance that causes their illness not to be treated on time. Chronic illness is an example of why Americans should have health insurance; these illnesses require expensive medication, and costly services. Unfortunately, uninsured cause Americans not to pay these services, and this leads to loans and financial struggles. Lisa M. Riedel, (2009) established that eight million people with chronic illnesses have decreased health and worse outcomes because they receive fewer services. Lisa M. Riedel (2009) established that Americans should not ask for charity in the form of health care and certainly not fall into bankruptcy because of illness. As citizens of America, it is only fair that everyone should have equal opportunity to receive health care and more...
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...Sickos Documentary Strayer University Leg 500 The documentary Sickos exposed the millions of Americans who are uninsured and victims of many insurance companies cost cutting initiatives. The documentary starts off with an adult couple who moves to Denver after filing bankruptcy on their home due to high and delinquent medical bills. The wife was a newspaper columnist who was diagnosed with cancer and the husband was a union machine worker who has excessive heart attacks. After the co pays and deductibles started adding up they both were forced to move in with their daughter. There are Americans who are uninsured and are injured on the job and have to decide which body part is more affordable to keep. Insurance carriers are constantly finding discrepancies in preexisting diseases and diagnoses to cut insurance pay out costs to the patients which in results kills many Americans. A 1960s record distributed by the American Medical Association, narrated by Ronald Reagan, warns that universal health care could lead to lost freedoms and socialism. In response, Moore shows that socialized public services like police, fire service, the United States Postal Service, public education and community libraries have not led to communism in the United States. The uninsured Americans, according to the Sickos documentary, are “poor, demoralized, and frightened”. The poor have debt which causes hopelessness which equals no voting. The documentary even shows how George Bush Jr. praises...
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...In the recent trends of globalization where there is an obsession in developing countries to follow foot-steps of Developed and Advanced Countries, implementing their policies page-to-page, the documentary Sicko by Michael Moore is an eye opener which talks about American healthcare system. It reveals deep-rooted corruption in the system, exposing the nexus between Politicians, Health Insurance companies and pharmaceutical industry who does not really care of the people but only interested in profits. The documentary brings forth a sparkling fact that 50 million Americans are uninsured, however Sicko is about the other Americans who are covered but have become a victim of insurance companies who uses every means possible to avoid paying for their customer’s medical expenses. The filmmaker conducts interviews with such victims of insurance companies who were denied care, former employees of insurance companies who reveals about the cost-cutting measures to give bonuses to insurance company doctors and others to find reasons for the company to avoid providing necessary treatments for policy holders and thus increase company profitability. The highlight of this documentary is how the politicians introduced a paralyzed health system, their nexus with insurance as well as pharma companies and other heart-touching interactions with victims as : A taped conversation between John Ehrlichman and President Richard Nixon on February 17, 1971 led to the origins of the Health...
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...Gabriela V. Hernandez Prof. Thomas PHI2604 12 November 2014 Film review of “Sicko” Michael Moore’s last two films were based on opinions that many people vehemently opposed: that America has too many guns, and that George W. Bush is a bad president. It didn’t matter how persuasive the films might have been, because half the population disagreed with them before the opening credits even rolled. But with “Sicko,” Moore turns his attention to the American healthcare system, and his central theme is that it needs to be reformed. I think that’s common ground, don’t you? We can argue about what remedies the system needs, and the best way to go about it, and plenty of people will think Moore is off-base for suggesting socialized medicine. But Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, don’t we all agree that the current system is wrong? Let’s use that as the starting point and let the discussion evolve from there. There are 50 million Americans who have no health coverage at all and “Sicko” is not about them. “Sicko,” Moore says, is about the other 250 million Americans, the ones who have health insurance yet STILL get a raw deal. This movie is about how American health insurance companies exploit every means possible to avoid actually paying for their customer’s medical needs, and how people sometimes die because of it. The “lucky” ones live, and are stuck with astronomical medical bills, you know, the bills that were supposed to be taken care of by the insurance...
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...GE 217 – Homework for Week 7 Major Writing Assignment (label as “Who’s to Blame?”) Read the article,”Violent Culture,” by Darren Beals, p.147-150 in your textbook. Analyze this writing in the same manner that you analyzed Quindlen’s article in class. Make sure you identify all types of evidence. You may use the following chart: Paragraph #s | What is the author saying? | How does the author do this? | 1-3 | The author is saying that the media and public wants to know what made this 15 year old boy kill his family and some classmates. | He states that everyone wants to know why Kinkel killed his family and others. | 4-7 | The author is saying that the media is trying to blame the internet but the media is bringing more focus on the case than the internet. | He describes how the media had the story on every channel that he turned to. | 8 | The author is saying that he would like to know who this Kip Kinkel is really. | By asking who is Kip. | 9-10 | The author is saying that kids have just as much access to guns than an adult and that kids will brag about their shooting skills. | By asking is gun rights lost on our kids and if kids admire movies of certain actors than they will intend to brag about their skills if they have any. | 11 | The author is saying that acting is a bigger issue than boasting and that by viewing other incidents kids may feel the intent to commit some of the same violent acts. | By stating the big difference between boasting and acting. Also...
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...they need. Kids may be sick, may have injuries and you may even be sick yourself. Health care is a serious issue today. Obamacare is supposed to give Americans access to more affordable, quality healthcare and reduce the growth of healthcare in America. It really didn’t do that. Obamacare left people hanging. Applications were filled out thinking that they were going to get health care only to receive nothing or receive too much. That will result in a big problem because they will have to pay that back on taxes. Politicians think that we as Americans are unintelligent. They think that they can tell us anything and we will buy it. This healthcare has turned into a bad thing. People all over are without healthcare. A movie known as SiCKO shows just how bad healthcare has gotten. We as a nation have thrown kindness out the window and become all about the mighty dollar. People are refused help because they don’t have the right insurance. They are put out on the street without the blink of an eye. Why? I’ll tell you why, Money over rules logic and compassion. Everyone should have healthcare. Prescriptions are at an all-time high. Elderly people can’t afford their pills. They are working longer just to be able to pay for their medication. Retirement is supposed to be able to help them with that but not today. I’ve seen a lady that had 6 different medications. The price of all them at one time is too much. So, she only gets 3 at a time. That’s so sad. “Ask your doctor...
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...Executive Summary As a Fortune 150 company with a 45-year history in the health industry and more than eleven million members under its wings, Humana has become one of the largest health benefit company in the U.S. With its slogan, “Guidance when you need it most”, Humana has gain their success through their diverse business units, outstanding wellness program and reliable customer service. The company is basically operates through two business division: government and commercial. The government division serves everyone who is enrolled in government-sponsored program such as Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE. On the other hand, the commercial division handles employers groups and individuals under fully insured medical or specialty medical. During the last decade, Humana has undergone many major changes, all of which have boosted the overall company’s performance. Humana current strong market position has much to do with their massive acquisitions and strategic alliances that took place within the last years. Their strategic alliances with big companies such as State Farm and PGA Tour and not to forget their partnership with the government have certainly widened their market scope as well as their products and services. Currently, Humana is actively conquering U.S. and Canadian market; however, they have also started to go global through their subsidiary in Puerto Rico where they provide military personnel serving in Puerto Rico with healthcare services for themselves...
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...The government also regulate laws for healthcare. Michael Moore, in Sicko, clarified how healthcare companies support government officials that will be useful to their organization. The film also had a transcript conversation between President Richard Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman (1971). Ehrlichman says, “Kaiser is running his permanent deal for profit. And the reason that he can…All the incentives are toward less medical care because the less care they are giving them, the more money they make”. Furthermore, Moore went on to say, “The healthcare industry spent over 100 million dollars to defeat Hilary’s healthcare plan and the government succeeded”. For Hilary’s silence, she was rewarded and became the second largest recipient of the healthcare contributions. Moreover, the healthcare system is faulted due to the...
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...to deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations (free encyclopedia). America is the leading country in medical and scientific advances and yet without a universal heath care system. The U.S health care system is the subject of many controversy debates. At one extreme, one can argue that Americans have the best health care system in the world mainly due to the widely available medical technology and the state-of-art facilities that have become so highly of the system, yet others would debate the American system as being inefficient, given the fact America spends way more on health care than any other country in the world, and yet still suffers from massive uninsurance and uneven quality ( Michael Moore, “SiCKO” documentary). The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world, based on health expenditure per capita and on total expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic products (Hellender, 2001). The reason for the high costs is the number of uninsured people in the U.S. who require treatment of diseases and illnesses that can be treated inexpensively in the early stages, then later on when the diseases have progressed, and with no health insurance. The United States healthcare system has many different sources of funding. For many Americans, health insurance is tied to their jobs through their employers or comes as a result of government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. There are...
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...Food Stamps Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Abstract This article describes the benefits of the Medicare system while exploring the many challenges of the program. The United States Medicare program is the closest program to universal health care for one portion of the population. While providing some level of health care to most elderly citizens over 65 years of age, it sometimes is found to be highly confusing to its patients. Additional concerns explored by this paper relate to the costs, quality of care, and availability to all who need this insurance. When all of the pros and cons are explored, one final concern arises. Amid the rising costs of medical care, prescription drugs, and costs of program administration, will the funding of this program continue and will this be a program that the young families of today can depend upon for their retirement years? 1. Introduction: The rules and regulations of Medicare Simply stated, Medicare is the federally financed health insurance program for people aged 65 and over, certain individuals with disabilities, and individuals with end-stage renal disease. Medicare Part A covers hospital and other inpatient stays. Medicare Part B is optional insurance, and covers hospital outpatient, physician, and other services. Medicare Parts A and B are known as original Medicare or Medicare FFS. Medicare beneficiaries have the option of obtaining coverage for Medicare Part A and B services...
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