It has long been my contention that there is no perfect system inasmuch as we may collectively idealize one. Seeing how my older brother is living abroad in Germany, I thought I’d challenge him with providing a field report as to how the Germans like their socialized system. True to form, he researched the topic and responded in kind with this fascinating PBS website. Enjoy!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/

If someone is sick or injured he/she should be treated. Period. If it’s one thing I cannot stand it’s visiting a doctor’s office, or worse, an emergency room, and being met with not care professionals but administrators eager to stick paperwork in your face. At the very least, it should be the other way around –treat first, settle payment later.

In response to your comments 1-3, I thought that the Michael Moore segway was appropriate for 2 reasons: 1. he is a polarizing figure on this issue and 2. the enclosed You Tube clip about health care accessibility in Canada which prompted my commentary referenced him. I appreciate anyone’s heart being in the right place, but passion without reason is fuel for bad policy. I plan to watch MM’s film and I imagine that I will enjoy it every bit as much as his other’s. However, I can’t imagine his comments being less provocative than they were on Oprah where he basically refused to have a civil conversation with other guests on the show.

My comments are a call to action for voters to engage the issues outside of the polarizing and sensational forum of national media. I offer no opinions or conclusions - only the hope of responsible democracy. I hope you agree that this is good idea. From my perspective, the debate is about how to make sick people better, and the fact that this simple idea is overshadowed by “insurance” and “healthcare” semantics clearly demonstrates how unfocused things really are.

1. Please actually watch the movie, Sicko, before judging MM’s comments on Oprah. Sorry if you have and I missed that. True, MM’s movie left out some important aspects and figures, but his heart is definitely in the right place (thanks Ranald).
2. The whole point of the movie, as I understand it, is that we need to move toward taking profit out of healthcare.
3. Another point, which surprised me, is that it wasn’t about uninsured Americans. It was about people who HAD health insurance, but were denied coverage for all kinds of reasons I suppose because covering decreases…PROFITS!
4. The idea that “folks could do better with their own private savings” seems ridiculous to me considering how much treatment for diseases such as cancer can cost. There is no amount of “financial savvy” that can save you in a situation like that. Not to mention: being “independently responsible”. What is that? Aren’t you looking for: “independently wealthy” with so much $$ that it doesn’t matter what kind of disease you get, you can still afford the best care? Again, no amount of “responsibility” can save one from such costs. This is where I’m missing something.
5. I hope I didn’t misinterpret the “financial savvy” stuff…sometimes it does seem like it would be better to roll the dice and hope for the best instead of bankrupting yourself with high premiums for insurance. Is that what you meant??

Non-PC overtones aside, I greatly respect your first hand experience on this issue. I fully agree that “insurance” is out of control. I opened our homeowners insurance policy and read it for the first time this weekend to find that our premium is 250 times above the insurance commissioner’s book price. Not to mention the fact that we’re required to have flood insurance on a house that will statistically never flood. Based on this one example it seems that folks could do better with their own private savings (perhaps akin to an HSA) with the benefit of serious tax credits. This too is unrealistic because I do not believe most people have the financial savvy or the discipline to be independently responsible - thereby necessitating a benefactor like…the federal government. There is not doubt that the government has a tremendous role to play in health care policy. My hope is that the solution is equitable and sustainable.

I’ve lived in countries as disparate as Germany, Turkey, and Singapore and would take any of their health care systems over the US. Yes, Michael Moore’s movie is biased and somewhat cartoonish, but his heart is in the right place. Bottom line: Something is seriously wrong when a country as wealthy as America cannot hide the fact that close to 50 million are uninsured.