On Anticipating Michael Moore's "Sicko"

I have not even watched the video that accompanies this YouTube clip of Michael Moore discussing his new film, but the comments on it are interesting. They range from the tame to the lame to the incendiary. More than one person seems to mention that the only action required to get adequate health coverage in this country is to get a job, as if our inherent laziness in this great country of ours is the only thing stopping us from getting insurance. As a bunch of "Sickos" ourselves, we know this isn't true.

How many times have we, as diabetics and parents of diabetics, heard that dreaded label "pre-existing condition" slapped onto our medical claims? It rolls off the tongue sounding dirty, shameful. Just give us a scarlet "D" to pin to our clothes every day. It's bad enough that we have a chronic condition that will last us the rest of our lives. The American healthcare industry just adds insult to injury every time it tells us that because we are sick and badly need coverage, we can't have it, or we can't have enough, or we can only have it under THEIR terms.

I know people who bristle at the mention of "universal healthcare" because they equate it with waiting in some kind of USSR-ish Communist breadline to see a doctor or have surgery. But don't we have to wait for appointments now? Don't we have to wait to schedule surgeries that don't require immediate attention as it is?

Something needs to be done. People in other countries know our healthcare system is the pits. According to this really great article from the Guardian UK, the US comes in 37th when it comes to healthcare. Number one was France. You hear that, Frenchie-hating politicos who are still eating your Freedom Fries? When you have a heart attack from eating so many of those things, you'd get better care in your least favorite country in the world!

Whether you love or hate Michael Moore, you have to agree that the release of this movie will get this country and maybe even the whole world talking. Everyone is already buzzing about healthcare as a hot-button topic in the upcoming election, and this might just be the thing to cement it in the minds of Americans.

So, you silly, misinformed YouTubers, it takes a lot more than a job to get the health coverage you need. Check this out:

-Upwards of 17 million of us are underinsured. So after you pay $700 out of your monthly paycheck to have health coverage at all, then you find out you have to pay for some necessary procedure entirely out of your own pocket. Brilliant. I once worked a temp job for nearly a year and a half, but I never accepted the agency's health plan. It was practically useless unless you were a completely healthy person who might need to get a prescription twice a year. It would only cover $30 a month in prescription drugs! Insulin costs twice that, and let's not even start with the price of glucose test strips. So, stupid YouTuber, many of us bust our asses only to end up sick and tired of being sick and tired.

-The population of New York City is over 8 million people. That's a lot of people. Know how many people in this country don't have health insurance? 47 million. Nearly 6 times the number of folks who live in NYC! Sure, the population of this country is over 300 million, but shouldn't EVERYONE be able to afford their own healthcare at any time?

-Why are there so many uncontrolled cases of Diabetes in the US? I'm sure the cost of healthcare, laboratory tests and prescriptions is probably one of the biggest factors. Just a guess, but when a search for "glucose test strips" on Ebay results in 149 offers, it's probably not that far from the truth.

So, Michael Moore, in short, I hope your movie does well. I hope I really like it, too. Lord knows it might just be what everyone in this country needs to see right now.