HW 25 - Response to Sicko

Precis-

Fifty million Americans are uninsured while the remainder, who are covered, are often victims of insurance company fraud and unfair red tape. These red tapes used to prevent the insurance company from paying for their policyholders illness are terms such as Pre-existing, not a medical necessity, and even experimental medicine. Today’s healthcare system is setting all incentives towards less medical care. We conducted interviews with people who thought they had adequate coverage but were denied care. We contacted former employees of insurance companies who then described cost-cutting initiatives within their own former companies that give bonuses to insurance company physicians and others to find reasons for the company to avoid meeting the cost of medical treatments for policyholders, and thus increase the company’s profitability rate.

Evidence-

A. 

• Michael Moore's first piece of evidence to bolster his argument in Sicko was the denying of claims of "good" people who are Policyholders of whichever insurance company.
• Michael Moore's second piece of evidence to bolster his argument in Sicko was the statements of former employee's of these insurance companies.

B.

• The first piece of evidence is important because it adds a emotional aspect to the movie in whihc he is hoping you can realte to even if you have not gone through the experiences that these people who are being denyed coverage have gone through.
• The second piece of evidence is important because it makes the first argument seem valid, by adding the statements of the people who would deny those claims and worked first hand in the process of hurting those people being denied and also seeing their remorse makes us think that "Oh hey, if the people who worked at these insurance companies say it is happening then it must be happening."

D.
While doing research i discovered multiple sources that supports Dr. Sanjay Gupta's evidence refuting the evidence provided in Michael Morre's Sicko. The average life expectancy of the cuban person is 77.64 years old (CIA World FactBook - Cuba - 2009) while the higher United States life expectancy is 78.11 years old( CIA World FactBook - US - 2009). Using these sources i can verify what Dr.Sanjay Gupta is saying and also say that they are legitamite and accurate arguments.

Response-

When Watching Sicko i felt many of the arguments and evidence for the arguments that michael moore used was very important and had an impact on me. However the most imortant piece of evidence that was presented was the international perspective on The United States health care system, specifically the shock and astonishment of people from both britain and france when they heard about how we would have to wait for approval from our insurance company before recieving or even sometimes attempting to recieve help from a medical establishment. I feel that the way Michael Moore directed this movie was intended to instigate a reaction from the person watching it to the point where they say "damn my health insurance sucks maybe i should move somewhere in which it doesn't." and really just to upset insurance companies and anyone who is opposing him on this topic. I believe that the movie really only enforced my ideas on the dominant social practice surrounding Illness & dying, which was that The United States is not helping or taking care of its citizens when they need it the most and that is when they are ill or dying.