If you are from a country where nearly 400 million people still live below poverty, you should probably not be complaining about the health care system in the United States. But if you have lived in the US for sometime, it would hardly go unnoticed that the health care system is such a farce. 50 odd million people (i.e. nearly 15% of the population) are uninsured (health care without insurance in the US is worse than the worst nightmare!). It doesn't stop there. Even if you are a middle class citizen covered by a "good" health insurance, you would still dread at the thought of visiting a doctor.
Michael Moore is direct, ruthless and when given a chance, strips down his opponents with utter disregard. I was thrilled when "Sicko" was released this friday, especially because the 2008 campaign has just picked up pace. and boy, has he done a good job! It will be interesting to see if the documentary has any influence on the voters or the intent of policy makers at the Capitol.
I can't stop thinking about the pros/cons of organized lobbying and how it would fit in a more complex democratic framework like that of India. Are we much better off now? I don't know.
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2 comments:
I'm an admirer of Michael Moore as well. I'm yet to see Sicko. But frankly, the uninsured population and healthcare costs are made a big deal out of. Who created the market to begin with? The producers and consumers of healthcare in the US themselves did. There is no insurance without moral hazard. And moral hazard inevitably gives rise to a prisoners' dilemma and everyone pays the price for not being able to overcome the prisoners' dilemma. More importantly, the solution to this problem could be worse than the problem. Like insurance, public welfare comes at the cost of moral hazard as well. Just take a look at the social security system in Germany for instance.
Who says there is no organized lobbying in India. But it is behind the scenes and is done by and on behalf of a few industrial houses or interests.
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