“We don’t expect the fire department to turn a profit. It would be an appalling thought. And the reason we don’t is because it’s a life and death issue. Well, healthcare is a life and death issue.”
- Michael Moore, Oscar-Winning Filmmaker,
interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on the 5th of June 2007
“Health care is an essential safeguard of human life and dignity and there is an obligation for society to ensure that every person be able to realize this right.”
- Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Chicago Archdiocese
“My name is Susie Flynn. I am running for President of the United States of America to help the nine million children who have no health insurance. This is a crisis. These children have been let down, yet the people accountable are doing too little to solve it. By running for President, I intend to make everyone in America aware of the issue so that it will no longer be ignored. Under your next President, every child in America must get the health insurance he or she deserves.”
- Susie Flynn, 10-year old U.S. Presidential Candidate 2008,
sign her petition at http://www.electsusie.com
THE HOT POTATO
Serving Up a Weekly Helping of
Sustainable & Organic Gardening, Food, Health, and Community
by Adam Brockman & Aireen Joven, July 2007, #24
THIS WEEK’S DISH:
IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH:
Michael Moore’s Sicko And Universal Healthcare For All!
SHOULD WE MOVE to France? That was our first question after watching Sicko this past Monday. Heck, Adam lived in the South of France for a little while in 2001. But of course, the real question is: are we who live in the United States going to demand universal, not for profit, holistic healthcare for all, or what?! OR….are Adam and Aireen makin’ plans to move to France, England, Canada, or maybe Cuba? Heck, Aireen studied French for several years in high school. She’s not at all fluent, but while we soak in our free healthcare and drastically improve our health and overall wellbeing, we could learn the native language just fine. J’habite aux Etats-Unis, mais maintenant j’aime habiter en France, en raison des soins de santé universels pour ma famille! Has a nice ring to it, non?
Then again, FREE HEALTHCARE FOR ALL – for our family and friends, neighbors, coworkers, all the sick people, all the children, pregnant women, seniors, homeless families, veterans, us, and well, everybody in the whole country, including the 9 million kids without health insurance, who are a part of the 50 million uninsured in the U.S. Health care for all of us? Yes, that sounds even better.
OUR AMERICAN DREAM
If we had universal, not for profit, holistic healthcare, we could get our teeth cared for without financial fear and remove our mercury fillings for free. We could go to the foot doctor about that little thing that’s no big deal…or is it? We could visit a doctor of our choice, like a naturopathic doctor, for a comprehensive holistic evaluation of our health, to cleanse toxins from our body under the supervision of a holistic doctor, and to strengthen our immune system armed with deeper knowledge about our body’s condition. We could see a certified nutritionist and herbalist to address any and all deficiencies or imbalances. We could go to the eye doctor without ever having to pull out a credit card or insurance card. We could get regular full body massages, try out energetic healing modalities, and get help to lower some of that health-destroying stress. We could be empowered to never feel sick, fatigued, achey, or depressed ever again.
Of course, we are all empowered to make these health changes now, even living in the U.S. without health insurance. But with universal, holistic healthcare, we would be totally empowered without financial limitations, hesitations, or hindrances. The two of us, as a couple, could plan for beginning a family together in greater peace, knowing that the health and medical needs of the father, mother, and child are taken care of from A to Z, including: free doctor/midwife visits, free birthing care, free medicine, several months, even a year, of pre and post-natal PAID vacation for the mother, and paid time off for the father as well. In the UK, they even provide a government-employed helper who twice a week does laundry, cleaning, or other chores to ease the new mother’s responsibilities. How great would that be to address issues like postpartum depression, which can arise from feelings of being overwhelmed and unsupported?
When our future child grows up in a society that meets all of her or his basic human rights, more like France, Sweden, or Canada, the child would benefit from: free healthcare, free daycare if needed (we would not put our child in daycare, but the option would be available for all parents), and free college! This is all of course dependent upon the choices we make. THIS CAN BE OUR LIFE, our health, our basic human right that is universal healthcare fulfilled, but we as a country must take action now to enact universal healthcare for all. Below we discuss a bill in Congress sponsored by Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers, HR 676, that would cover all healthcare needs for every person in the United States at no extra cost to taxpayers. We repeat: FREE HEALTHCARE AT NO EXTRA COST TO TAXPAYERS! We, in the U.S., are already paying for free healthcare, but not getting it. We address some common myths and facts below as well.
SICKO WILL HEAL AMERICA
Please watch Michael Moore’s new documentary Sicko. We feel Sicko is by far his most successful and least partisan film to date. It’s not depressing. It’s eye-opening, educational, funny, compassionate, and empowering. It will make you cry, and it will make you contact your Senators and Representative. It’s our reality and our responsibility that we need to face, because it could be our daughter or mother or brother who does have insurance, but then is still turned away by the hospital’s insurance policies, only to lose their life from denied treatment. This is the focus of Moore’s film, the immoral policies, corruption, and lies of the for-profit health insurance system in the U.S. and the people who are insured by it.
Moore interviews people of varying income levels, patients, nurses, and doctors who live and work in countries that do provide free healthcare for all. They express satisfaction with the taxes that fund their universal healthcare, and are absolutely happy knowing that their needs, whether it’s a midnight tummy ache or an emergency surgery to reattach fingers from a terrible accident, are taken care of. Imagine patients at hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices NEVER having to be concerned about money, just healing and feeling better. It’s like separation of church and state. What we need is separation of healthcare and a for-profit system.
MYTHS AND FACTS OF UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE
MYTH: If everyone had free healthcare, we would be paying taxes out of our ears.
FACT: What many people don’t know is that we, the American people, are already spending enough of our tax dollars to have universal health care; we’re just not getting it. According to Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s Presidential Campaign website, “We spend nearly 50% more than the next most expensive nation and nearly twice as much as Canada” on our current healthcare system. We are spending twice as much as Canada, a nation that provides healthcare to all of its citizens, and still some 50 million Americans do not have coverage!
MYTH: We wouldn’t be able to choose our doctors or medical facilities.
FACT: Depending on what kind of insurance (or lack of insurance) you have, your choices of doctors and hospitals might already be limited. Under universal healthcare in countries like Canada and Sweden, you can enter any medical facility regardless of where you live and receive treatment for no cost. Our freedom of choice would be greatly enhanced by such a system.
MYTH: The quality of our healthcare system would be degraded due to lack of competition.
FACT: In nations with free healthcare like Japan, Canada, France, and Great Britain, the quality of their healthcare systems can be measured by the overall health and life expectancy of their citizens. Each of these nations ranks higher than the U.S. in terms of overall health, infant survival rates, and life expectancy. According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. ranks 37th in the world for health system performance, just behind Costa Rica and far behind each of the above nations. In fact, of the WHO’s top ten healthiest nations in the world, all of them have universal healthcare (Japan is #1). The National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine estimates that 18,000 people die each year in the United States, because they do not have health insurance. According to a 2007 American Medical Association report, the poorest British citizen lives longer than the richest U.S. citizen!
MAKING THE DREAM COME TRUE
No healthcare system is perfect. Universal healthcare would still have its flaws and drawbacks that would need to be worked out. However, we do happen to have the top ten healthiest countries to draw from as models. That’s a pretty good place to start. And no one would die or needlessly suffer, because they were too poor or had a pre-existing condition. We also want to emphasize the absolute importance of a universal healthcare system that incorporates alternative medicine, mental healthcare, holistic healing, and preventative care. This would be a giant step towards a healthy society and lasting health & healing for all.
The movement for universal healthcare in the U.S. is strong and gaining momentum. Congressmen Kucinich and John Conyers have co-authored HR 676, The United States National Health Insurance Act, that would cover all healthcare needs for every U.S. citizen at NO EXTRA COST to taxpayers. The HR 676 bill is currently supported by 78 members of Congress, 260 Union locals, and 14,000 physicians, and is also endorsed by Michael Moore.
It’s time for the United States to join Cuba, Japan, the European Union, and all industrialized, western countries. It’s time we all started taking care of each other and becoming well. Call, fax, email, or send a letter to your Representative in Congress and urge them to support HR 676. Contact your Senators and urge them to introduce a similar bill in the Senate. To find out your reps’ contact info, go to: www.congress.org. You can also call the Congressional Operator toll-free and ask to be connected to any member of Congress at 877-331-1223. Get involved and visit:
• Michael Moore’s official website – www.michaelmoore.com
• Check out Michael Moore’s “What Can I Do?” page for many resources, including links to contact Congress to support HR 676 and a link to see if your Rep is a current co-sponsor of HR 676.
• American Medical Student Association, great links, t-shirts, powerpoint presentations, and guides to taking action – www.amsa.org
• Read more about HR 676, introduced by Reps. John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich, Jim McDermott and Donna Christensen – www.house.gov/conyers/news_hr676_2.htm
• Congressman Dennis Kucinich is the only Presidential Candidate with a plan for Universal, Single Payer, NOT FOR PROFIT Healthcare – www.dennis4president.com/go/issues/a-healthy-nation
• Check out how the U.S. Presidential Candidates rank with contributions from the health industry (from Michael Moore’s website).
A COUNTRY OF “WE” NOT “ME”
Oprah calls Sicko “the one film you must see this summer”. During his interview on the Oprah Winfrey show, Michael Moore summed it up, “We need healthcare guaranteed for every American. Remove the profit from the system and regulate the pharmaceutical companies.” Moore also said to Oprah and her millions of viewers, “We have to get out of this individualistic, you know – every man for himself, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, I got mine and you get yours, I got my own problems. We’ve got to stop that, and we’ve got to start thinking the way they think in these other countries where they think about the we, not the me.”
Until next week, the Hot Potato is in your hands. Pass it on!
Dennis Kucinich on his Universal Healthcare Plan
Democratic Candidates on Universal Healthcare
Fast Forward to 0:50 seconds left (8:30 into the video) to hear Kucinich explain the difference between his Universal Non Profit Healthcare Plan versus plans by Obama, Edwards, and Clinton who would keep the For Profit Insurance Companies in charge
Elect Susie Flynn-The voice for 9 million uninsured children
The Health Care Crisis, Part I
Pinky interviews Dr. Hui, physician and economist, who explains what managed care organizations are, and their relationship to the current health care crisis in the U.S.
presented by The Pinky Show
Great blog, you really are quite a talened writer. I really enjoyed reading this keep up the great work.
Great post, lots of info on this most important issue.
[...] which we’re already paying for but not getting. (See our previous Hot Potato article about Michael Moore’s Sicko and H.R. 676, introduced by Congressmen Kucinich and Conyers.) Create a Works Green Administration to champion a [...]