ARE YOU "SICKO" YET?

It was only a matter of time before the health insurance industry, using its surrogates in the media, went after Michael Moore and his new film, “Sicko.” After all, if the idea of universal health care ever takes root in this land, the insurance industry stands to lose, big time.

The profits in the health insurance industry are staggering, so it’s no surprise that Aetna, Blue Cross, Humana and the rest are ginning up the PR machine for battle.

Enter CNN, Wolf Blitzer, Larry King and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the network’s chief medical correspondent. Michael Moore was present, too, as angry as I have ever seen him for what he called a “piece of crap” segment about his movie.

Fairly or not, Blitzer comes off as an apologist for CNN and the entire mainstream media; Sanjay Gupta was well-spoken but condescending; and Larry King -- well, let’s just say that Larry should stick to celebrity interviews and the Paris Hilton beat.

What annoyed me as a viewer of the initial piece on Blitzer’s Situation Room, and the follow-up on Larry King, was how mired Moore and Dr. Gupta became in minor details. Does the United States spend $6,000 or more like $7,000 per capita per year on health care? Do Canadians wait weeks for medical care? Is our health care better than Cuba’s?

Folks, that the United States ranks in the same vicinity with Cuba in the World Health Organization’s hierarchy is the real tragedy. Cuba, let’s not forget, is a small island nation with limited resources, ruled by an ailing dictator, with an economy stuck in a time warp. That Cuba manages to rank 39th on the WHO list is a remarkable achievement for which Cubans should be proud, and conversely, that the US ranks 37th is a national scandal for which we should hang our heads.

Dr. Gupta took Moore to task over the concept of “free” medical care in France and Britain and Canada. Gupta insisted that the French, British, and Canadians do pay in the form of taxes. This is true. Personal tax rates in those countries are higher than ours, primarily because they have not made “tax relief” and “no new taxes, ever!” the cornerstone of their domestic economic policies; nor have they transferred a trillion dollars to their wealthiest citizens as we’ve done here on the fruited plain.

Moore gets it right when he points out that French citizens receive medical care without stressing over how much that care will cost; every citizen pays into the system, every citizen is covered, end of story. Only the US boasts an estimated 47 million people uninsured, millions more under-insured, and who knows how many soon to be priced out of the health insurance market altogether. If that isn’t enough shame, don’t forget that millions of American children lack health insurance coverage and access to primary care.

Just to stay on the money point a bit longer…Dr. Gupta seemed mighty self-satisfied when he pointed out that France has a multi-billion dollar (franc?) budget deficit. Gee, Doc, when was the last time you looked at the US budget deficit, our trade deficit, our negative savings rate, and the statistics on personal debt, bankruptcies and mortgage foreclosures?

Dr. Gupta also spoke proudly of how technologically advanced the US is when it comes to procedures like knee and hip replacements and cataracts. Yes, we do the exotic things quite well, but again, that’s because specialists in those areas make boucoup money for their expertise. Our problem is access to care, not technology. Forget knee replacements! Let’s see what we can do about obesity, diabetes, gout, and heart disease.

Love him or hate him, Michael Moore has made a movie that finally raises the inhumanity of our profit-based health care system to wider consciousness. Even Dr. Gupta admitted that it’s damn annoying for a certified MD to call a clerk in Omaha to get approval for a medical procedure that the MD deems necessary for his patient’s health. The problem with our system is that the clerk in Omaha has the power and authority to say NO.