With the 2008 Presidental election gearing up, the nation's healthcare system is a huge topic for debate. To increase their chances of getting elected, many democrats are promoting a free national healthcare plan, citing serious issues with the current U.S. healthcare system. Combine that with the harsh criticism in the media such as Michael Moore's documentary, "Sicko," and you're dealing with a lot of negative spin.
Politicians and media cast such a negative light on America's healthcare system, it may prompt some people to re-consider working in the medical field at all. However, there is much more to the story than Michael Moore and the grand-standing politicians of the world would lead you to believe.
Moore's 'Sicko' Documents One Side of the Story
In his movie, Moore follows patients in the US, Canada, Great Britain, and even Cuba, throughout various healthcare processes. His basic message is that the U.S. has the most dysfunctional system of all the other countries, and that the US government should implement a free national healthcare system.
What Michael Moore does NOT show you, is what’s wrong with all those socialized and government owned healthcare systems he idealizes in the movie. Is the US Healthcare system perfect? No. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. However, the international healthcare systems Moore spotlights as best-case-scenarios are severely flawed, much more so than healthcare in the U.S.
Free National Healthcare Causes Issues with Quality and Availability of Medical Care
Imagine being the patient in these international medical scenarios, taken right out of the news:
In Canada, a woman who recently gave birth to quadruplets had to travel hundreds of miles to deliver her babies in a Montana hospital, because all of the hospitals in her country were full to capacity. She was the fifth woman this year to be transported from Alberta to the US for childbirth, according to the Calgary Herald.
In Britain, people are standing in line for hours to see a dentist, after waiting months for an appointment. The situation is so dire that some people have recently resorted to super-gluing crowns back on, or even pulling out their own teeth!
Waiting times in England are so long for surgery, that some patients are forgoing the free operations, flying themselves to the US for surgery, and opting to pay for the surgery rather than live in pain and misery for months or years.
Physicians Immigrate to the U.S. from Around the World
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, about 25% of physicians in the U.S. are internationally trained, meaning they completed medical school in another country. Physicians who have trained in other countries must completely re-train in the US, even if they have practiced for many years in another country. Therefore, physicians must be very motivated to spend the additional years of training required to practice medicine in America.
When asked what attracts them to the US, most physicians will tell you that the medical technology and the quality of healthcare available in the US is one of their primary reasons for relocating, based on my experience interviewing hundreds of physicians annually. Due to the high quality of our medical technology and pharmaceutical advancements, the cost of our healthcare is more expensive than in other countries, and a national healthcare system in the US would most likely result in a decline in the quality of care offered.
There are many more examples out there of how our Healthcare system surpasses that of most other countries in the world. However, those “good news” stories don’t get as much attention as the bad news, so you just have to be more proactive to learn about them. Please don’t let naysayers discourage you from contributing your talent to the exceptional healthcare industry in America!
Politicians and media cast such a negative light on America's healthcare system, it may prompt some people to re-consider working in the medical field at all. However, there is much more to the story than Michael Moore and the grand-standing politicians of the world would lead you to believe.
Moore's 'Sicko' Documents One Side of the Story
In his movie, Moore follows patients in the US, Canada, Great Britain, and even Cuba, throughout various healthcare processes. His basic message is that the U.S. has the most dysfunctional system of all the other countries, and that the US government should implement a free national healthcare system.
What Michael Moore does NOT show you, is what’s wrong with all those socialized and government owned healthcare systems he idealizes in the movie. Is the US Healthcare system perfect? No. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. However, the international healthcare systems Moore spotlights as best-case-scenarios are severely flawed, much more so than healthcare in the U.S.
Free National Healthcare Causes Issues with Quality and Availability of Medical Care
Imagine being the patient in these international medical scenarios, taken right out of the news:
In Canada, a woman who recently gave birth to quadruplets had to travel hundreds of miles to deliver her babies in a Montana hospital, because all of the hospitals in her country were full to capacity. She was the fifth woman this year to be transported from Alberta to the US for childbirth, according to the Calgary Herald.
In Britain, people are standing in line for hours to see a dentist, after waiting months for an appointment. The situation is so dire that some people have recently resorted to super-gluing crowns back on, or even pulling out their own teeth!
Waiting times in England are so long for surgery, that some patients are forgoing the free operations, flying themselves to the US for surgery, and opting to pay for the surgery rather than live in pain and misery for months or years.
Physicians Immigrate to the U.S. from Around the World
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, about 25% of physicians in the U.S. are internationally trained, meaning they completed medical school in another country. Physicians who have trained in other countries must completely re-train in the US, even if they have practiced for many years in another country. Therefore, physicians must be very motivated to spend the additional years of training required to practice medicine in America.
When asked what attracts them to the US, most physicians will tell you that the medical technology and the quality of healthcare available in the US is one of their primary reasons for relocating, based on my experience interviewing hundreds of physicians annually. Due to the high quality of our medical technology and pharmaceutical advancements, the cost of our healthcare is more expensive than in other countries, and a national healthcare system in the US would most likely result in a decline in the quality of care offered.
There are many more examples out there of how our Healthcare system surpasses that of most other countries in the world. However, those “good news” stories don’t get as much attention as the bad news, so you just have to be more proactive to learn about them. Please don’t let naysayers discourage you from contributing your talent to the exceptional healthcare industry in America!
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