Posted by sleepy-in-seattle on December 18, 2007 at 14:28:50:

In Reply to: Re: Private Health Insurance is problem posted by seattlebill on December 18, 2007 at 10:12:44:

While I enjoy Moore from an entertainment angle, I agree that his "documentary" approach is pretty unbalanced. That said, welcome to reality - there are shockingly few "documentary" filmakers who can be truly called balanced.

I do feel that his approach often highlights something that people urgently need to talk about. Debate can be a good precursor to change.

WRT health care, something is very wrong and I believe Sicko may shine a light in an area that many people do not understand (or think that they've somehow just had some bad luck).

The problem with this whole health care industry approach is that business and stockholder needs come into direct conflict with real people's health needs. If an industry is aware that there is real profit involved in delaying/denying payment and making it difficult/impossible to gain information, from a pure business standpoint it is too valuable to ignore.

I happen to be a savvy, high paid computer professional with a wife who has national connections in insurance and finance industries. I have the knowledge, ability and experience to be able to fight, weasel, cajole, threaten and outmaneuver many of these bureaucracies - and for me it was NOT EASY and very stressful, not to mention staggeringly time-consuming. My heart goes out to those who have little or no resources - the single moms, the retired, the jobless, the undereducated - who have serious health issues and no safety net. These are the people who must take a day off work to spend two hours on the phone trying to get answers - if they don't risk losing their job entirely! These are the ones who will most often give up - not because they want to, but because they can't afford to keep up the fight.

I wish there were easy answers to this dilemma (and if anyone thinks there are, you truly need to research the entire history from ALL sides). But without a doubt, we need change - too many people's health is at risk due to a deeply flawed system.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Private Health Insurance is problem bobmisteer 21:37 12/18/07 (0)

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