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Sicko Reflection

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Sicko Reflection
The meaning “healthcare” in different parts of the world is viewed and sought out differently. Most humans want to have a healthy living and always try to eat right, exercise the body and mind, and most importantly protect their body. In class we watched most of a film named “Sicko” by Michael Moore, a documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, while sharing HMO (health maintenance organization) horror stories. Three major nations that were in the film are France, Canada and United Kingdom. The United States is the only country where its citizens have to buy or be given health insurance to see any medical practitioner. After taking the time to reflect on Michael Moore’s “Sicko” I believe strongly in healthcare being universal and free, I only hope this could happen in the USA one day. In the United Kingdom their healthcare system is called NHS. The National Health Service is free and is paid for by the public. One major part I remember was Michael Moore walking around a hospital because he heard of there being a cashier, after finding it and inquiring about what transactions take place there he found that no money was taken there but only given out. Citizens that cannot afford the travel expenses or other health related services are given money! The Life expectancy rate for males in the UK is 77.2 and 81.6 for females. In France healthcare is also free. To grasp how the French system works, think about Medicare for the elderly in the United States, then expand that to cover the whole nation. French medicine is based on a widely held value that the healthy should pay for care of the sick. Everyone has access to the same basic coverage through national insurance funds, which every employer and employee pay money to. The government also picks up the tab for the unemployed or anyone else who cannot gain coverage. My favorite part of the French healthcare system is a company called SOS. They are doctors that make

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