SiCKO

Michael Moore’s new documentary, SiCKO, opens with a close-up shot of a man sewing up a deep gash in his own leg. Is the American health care system in crisis? The answer is plain from the outset. But the real cause seems to be a lack of conscience, not a lack of dollars.

SiCKO, Moore’s examination of the health care in the United States, is the culmination of a ten year plan to expose the corporate greed and political favours that have resulted in a system with a complete heart by-pass. It is delivered in much the same satirical style as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 but, despite the opening scene, viewers will find less ‘shock’ and more thought at work.

I’ve been critical of Moore’s work in the past because I’ve considered it the reality television version of the documentary. In this genre significant issues are glossed over for the sake of bald statements, and clear reasoning abandoned in favour of eye-catching stunts. SiCKO is still more movie than investigation, but Moore does limit his scope from the outset to maximize the impact of his findings. The film deliberately details the magnitude of the problem facing the average American in need of medical care by concentrating particularly on those who have dutifully paid their health care insurance premiums for years and still battled for assistance. It is in fact about 250 million Americans rather than about those who ‘fall through the gaps’. As one 79-year-old forced to empty bins for the sake of continuing coverage puts it, “If there are golden years I can’t find them. It’s a sad situation”.

Moore believes health insurance companies are the ones holding the smoking gun. Handing health care over to the market has resulted in a system that is more concerned with returns than recoveries. As one doctor employed to consider claims explains, “I was told that I was not denying care, I was denying payment”. An investigator employed solely for the purpose of finding ways to invalidate patients’ coverage adds, “You didn’t slip through the cracks. Somebody made the crack and swept you towards it”.

The horror stories and mounting evidence might make for concerned but comfortable watching for the average Australian. After all when Moore starts wondering aloud why the richest nation on earth can’t afford a federally funded health care system we can sit back and smugly consider the advantages of our own Medicare. But that attitude will only work for about half the film – right up to the point Moore begins investigating the health systems of other nations. Australia might fair well against Canada but Great Britain should bring us up short. For one thing its National Health System freezes prescription prices at around $20 AU, regardless of the drug. And don’t even think of trying to compare us with the French – no Australian government I know of is offering free nanny-support for new mothers or 24-hour house calls from doctors. And just before someone starts weighing in with the ‘European populations and economies of scale’ argument, wait till you get a look at Cuba’s enviable medical system. Suddenly a documentary that seemed comfortably centred on another American problem has relevance for our domestic situation.

Why is it that America and Australia lack such facilities, when they can be afforded by countries with far less successful economies? The question is a moral, not a financial one. SiCKO demonstrates that citizens ultimately prioritise government spending. If we truly believe that people deserve to receive the medical treatment they need rather than that which they can afford, we will be unlikely to hand health care over to the conscienceless forces of the market. “When it comes to people’s health, profit should be nowhere involved,” Moore says. “If anyone suggested, say, that the school system should be making a profit, they’d be looked at as if they were from Mars.”

This is another example demonstrating how inextricably linked Christianity is to public policy. There has been much comment in recent times aimed at confining the voice of the church to vaguely defined matters of ‘spiritual’ import. However God’s compassion for his creation does not distinguish between the spiritual and the physical. He who sent Jesus to save us also sends the rain and “…causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good” (Matthew 5:45). Likewise, James would point out that our Christ-like perspective should lead us to offer others spiritual healing and ensure they “… keep warm and well fed” (James 2:16).

SiCKO is probably worth watching if only for the conclusion which contains the most outrageous stunt ever constructed for the shock doc genre. You will be genuinely surprised how far Moore is prepared to go. However many will still find Moore’s analysis of the problem facing Americans glib and a bit too glossy. His case studies are obviously selective and chosen for effect. However he is clearly a master of his medium, using the big screen to do what it does best – teaching us how to feel about an issue.

The effect of watching people in need struggle through disappointment after disappointment, then finally receive the care they need is enough to bring tears to your eyes. This sort of understanding is what St Mike hopes we will all achieve as he concludes, “We need to learn to live in a world of We and not Me,” if we’re ever to see things change. But however good the diagnosis, I think the cure is where the documentary ultimately falters. Moore puts far too much faith in the goodness of the human heart. Will awareness of problems, even our own selfishness, actually result in anything more than twinges of guilt? What we need is a whole-life transplant if we’re going to start ‘loving others as we love ourselves’. Thankfully that expensive elective procedure has already been covered by God.

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