In the contentious debate about health care reform in the United States, Cuba is used on all sides as either a model of success or a model of failure. It all depends on who you ask.

One popular--and incredibly controversial--example is Michael Moore's 2007 film Sicko, which lauded the preventative health care system in Cuba. The movie was made to be a critical look at health care in the US, and Moore decided to use Cuba as an example to prove his point, a decision that may have backfired . . .

>>>> READ HERE

he was on larry king tonight

I thought Michael Moore's film "Sicko" was an auto-biography. You mean it is about health care?

Right on, Tom!

Anyone who takes the leftist ramblings of Michael Moore seriously probably voted for Obama and, as such, deserves the oblivion they're destined for!

not only does cuba have good health care, I met a cuban woman who moved here and they even have good dental care she had all her teeth capped for free

In September, 2006, I was visiting my wife's family in Costa Rica, and on our return flight we went to Cuba for 3 days (the only way to get into Cuba was through another country other than the U.S.). The country is extremely poor in most sections from what we saw.
However, on day 2 of our stop-over, the taxi in which we were riding was in an accident. I had a cut on my forehead requiring 7 stiches, and broke my left wrist, which required a cast from the elbow down.
Being in a foreign country, especially such a poor one, I did not know what to expect for health care. I was shocked by the quickness of the care provided, the quality of the care (once back in the U.S. I immediately had their work checked out, with no complaints from my local doctor), and here is the biggest shock: I didn't pay a dime for the care!!!
All I had to do was show some identification and sign a two page form, and that was it. Not even a place on the form to list my then state-provided PEIA insurance. They didn't even ask.
I can only speak from my experience and would tell you I saw no difference in care between Cuba and the U.S. (EXCEPT OF COURSE THE COST!)

I will now try to find this movie Sicko to watch it to see what the debate is about now.

Here's my two cents worth on U.S. healthcare. It's great. It's just too costly. The insurance companies and the pharmacuticals have us over a barrel.

My first cousin is a flight attendant with Delta and regularly flys into New Dehli, India. We have an aunt who spends over $400.00 per month in the U.S. in prescriptions that are not covered by Medicare. My cousin takes her U.S. prescriptions to India pharmacies, and for the same month's supply, for the same exact brand name medicines, she pays a paltry $30.00. Yea, $30.00!!! The medicines are the same, not generics or knock-offs.

So what is going on here that in the U.S. these companies are bankrupting our elderly with these prescription costs. I have no idea if the Indian government subsidizes the medicine costs, but apparently they do not care that these prescriptions (for my aunt) are for a citizen other than from their country.

So, bottom line, and only from these two examples (Cuba and India) of which I have first hand knowledge, while our health care is good, it is out of hand on costs. So do I support overhaul, or even government run health care, you bet. Our country is sucking a couple baby bottles here: the one run by the insurance companies and the pharmacuticals and the other run by the oil importing Arabs.

The big question is: when are we going to get off these bottles?

If you listen to the right wing demogags and Fox Phony News you would think that we overall have the best health care system. And this might be true for the wealthiest among us, but for the average American we are in horrible shape. Just read below.




The World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000, ranked the U.S. health care system as the highest in cost, first in responsiveness, 37th in overall performance, and 72nd by overall level of health (among 191 member nations included in the study).[18][19] A 2008 report by the Commonwealth Fund ranked the United States last in the quality of health care among the 19 compared countries.[20]

According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the United States is the "only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage" (i.e. some kind of insurance).[21][22] The same Institute of Medicine report notes that "Lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States." [21] while a 2009 Harvard study published in the American Journal of Public Health found a much higher figure of more than 44,800 excess deaths annually in the United States due to Americans lacking health insurance.[23][24] More broadly, the total number of people in the United States, whether insured or uninsured, who die because of lack of medical care was estimated in a 1997 analysis to be nearly 100,000 per year.[25]

I feel sorry for all the fools who risk life and limp to float here just to die from getting sick and not being able to afford to go to the Dr.





All seriousness, I would love to see everyone have insurance. But what is being sold to us is crap. I reviewed my weekly email from the Congressional Budget Office. Since alot don't get to see these reports because the news stays away from them like the plague. They went over the present Baucus health care plan.

"By 2019, the number of non elderly citizens who are uninsured would be 25 million."(In the report 2 months ago, they said the number of Americans who did not have insurance was 18 to 19M, the rest were illegals. Even barry quoted them in the debates)

"The Baucus Bill calls on a plethora of ill-advised tax increases, as well as cuts in Medicare and Medicaid totaling $404 billion. (The bill's tax increases not only clearly violate President Obama's repeated promise that he would not raise taxes on families earning less than $250,000 “one single dime.)”but would assuredly increase consumers' insurance costs. Representatives from both the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have testified before the Senate Finance Committee that these taxes will almost entirely be passed on to the consumer."



Wow increase the citizens without insurance by 7 million. I though we were trying to decrease the number. All this does is increase the number of illegals who get coverage, and by taking it from Americans(maybe that is why they are floating here). Plus it increases what we pay. So beleve what the news feeds you or go to the source and find the real answers. I disagree with this as much as I did with the patriot act. Both were ignorant, and just gave the gov. more comtrol over our lives.

All I have to say is look at the things we use every day, Post Office, DMV, and God forbid the Unemployment Office. I don't want to see that kind of service when I'm sick.