Guest Author - Kathleen M. Tuggle

Amazing, amazing, amazing. I took a couple of hours out of my Saturday schedule to see Michael Moore’s newest documentary, ‘Sicko.’ Known for his in-your-face style of movie making and controversial topics, this film is actually quite the opposite.

Moore lets the victims, and history itself, tell the truth. The film is filled with humor, sarcasm, and wit, which soothes the sadness you feel while experiencing the heartache of those telling their own personal stories of dealing with HMOs and healthcare providers in the United States. I felt a great deal of disgust, as well, when provided the facts on the booming healthcare industry in the U.S.

This documentary, surprisingly, touched me so deeply that as soon as the film ended, I walked over to the ticket window and purchased two more tickets to see the film again, later that night, with my sister. If I were wealthy, I’d pay for mass screenings of this film for every single American in the United States to see.

You might be wondering why a Comedy Movies writer is posting a review for a documentary. It’s not really a review per se, but an open call for everyone in America to see this film, regardless of their own personal health or insurance status.

I never could bring myself to see either of Moore’s last two controversial films - ‘Bowling for Columbine’ and ‘Fahrenheit 9/11.’ The subject matter was too overwhelmingly grim. Not saying that the state of today’s healthcare in America is all sunshine, but it is something that affects every American citizen, as well.

For the most part, I’ve always had health insurance, so I never worried that I wouldn’t be covered… until I saw ‘Sicko.’ This film is not just about those Americans who can’t afford health insurance. Moore also brings stories of individuals who were let down by their insurers. There were some stories that absolutely left the audience gasping in horror and disbelief. Kudos to Moore for naming names and for calling out the companies and politicians involved in the industry’s dirty dealing.

There are a multitude of stories in this film that literally made the audience laugh, cry, and applause vigorously. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when some of our own 9/11 workers, denied paid care in the U.S., were cared for by a team of physicians in a Havana, Cuba, hospital, then saluted by a local fire department in Cuba.

Please see this film. Take your family with you. Take a group of friends. This film will give you a lot to think about. It’s also important that we, as Americans, realize that we have the power to make things right in this next election.

Moore’s film dispels myths about socialized healthcare and gives us surprisingly positive views of the socialized healthcare systems in Canada, Britain, France, and Cuba. It was amazing to see how well these other countries care for their citizens' health – all paid for by their own tax dollars. This, unlike the United States, of course, with their big fat HMOs and pharmaceutical companies salivating over their billion-dollar profits at the expense of sick and dying insures.

This film was incredible. It does not reek of political one-sidedness. Actually, both parties get swiped at pretty evenly. It’s absolutely appalling to find out what a huge business healthcare has become. A business is a business, folks. They have to make money and they’re not going to make money if they have to pay for your insurance claims.

One more thing I’d like to add, in case anyone wants to send me emails saying private healthcare is the only way to go. As a veteran, I was able to receive health services via the Veterans Administration while I was going to school full-time. Frankly, my care through the Veterans Administration was the best healthcare I’ve ever received. The V.A. facilities in my area are awesome. There was NEVER any flip-flopping from my caregivers or cut-rate care due to cost concerns.

The preventative care I received was excellent. The V.A. physicians who care for the veterans at my local area V.A. hospital are also on staff at one of the most prestigious and well-known private hospitals in my city. While I was in the Air Force, I also received top-notch care at the military facilities I was stationed at.

I would welcome a universal healthcare system that offered the best of worlds – both government and private management without HMOs.


Please go see this movie. It could possibly change your life…. or save it.

Watch the trailer for ‘Sicko’ – Click Here