I'm well-known -- if known at all, which I'm not -- on the Fray for defending many elements of present-day Cuba. The medical system is one of the pretty much unassailable elements of the Cuban Revolution programs. Health care in Cuba is universal, and the quality in many areas is equal to that of a 1st world system. There are, from those who study this area, few cases of neglected people or groups who fall through the cracks. Their ratio of doctors to general population dwarfs ours 596 doctors per 100,000 citizens vs. 279; only Italy has more doctors per capita, at 607 per 100,000. The percentage of births attended by a skilled health professional is 100%. And this isn't just propaganda -- until Pres. For Now Bush's blocking of even most educational exchange between Cuba and the US, it was extremely common for US medical students to visit to study the effectiveness of Cuba's system. It was also common for education professionals to visit for similar reasons -- adult literacy in Cuba is around 95%. And even the World Bank has sent representatives there to study their system, as well, despite their reservations. "What was Ms. Debrework Zewdie, the Caribbean regional representative, doing at a conference in a communist country? At the closing ceremony, she bluntly explained that the World Bank fears the AIDS pandemic will trigger "regional economic collapse." Their view is that economic disaster is a fate worse than socialized medicine. She suggested that the developing world adopt Cuba's medical model as the strategy for fighting the pandemic."

Don't take my word for it -- or the hardly-communist World Bank's -- check the Human Development Reports. My information came from the '04 report; I doubt things have changed significantly since then.

No, it's not hyperbole to say that one can get far better medical care in Cuba than the US. It may be ironic, but it's hardly stacking the deck to compare a country that is viewed as villainous with the virtuous US, and find our own medical system, at least, very wanting.

*(not having seen Sicko, I can't comment on its general treatment of Cuba, but as I said, I've defended Cuba in the past, and I feel one has to take into account the fact that it's rated as the country with the 5th highest human development in the "Developing" world, and ranks as one of the most equal countries in the world in terms of gini coefficient. Say what you will, Stalin's Russia, today or yesterday's China, or any other communist regime you wish to name, never achieved results such as this; perhaps it's time we looked at Cuban communism as a very different animal, and judge it in its own right, warts -- or gaping sores, if you wish -- and all.)

Yes, but if Michael Moore were a Cuban based "documentary" maker, doing a film about the superiority of the American system in providing non-medical goods and services to Americans, he'd be in jail. Moore is great at using half-truths and omitting countervailing facts in building his cases one way or another.

It's why I think of his work as "crockumentary" rather than documentary.

Haven't seen the movie either, but I saw Moore explaining it in an interview. He says that his point was, if even the otherwise screwed-up Cubans can do health care right, why can't we?

I heard elsewhere that the WHO ranked Cuba's health care 39th in the world. USA was 37th. So, we beat them (probably would in baseball, too) but the score is too close for comfort.

Cuba is actually ranked 38th... just one below us...

on a side note.. Poland (ranked 50th) also has universal healthcare.

Isn't the whole point of the movie..forget about Cuba or Poland or France..is that we could do something better. I think the time has come for universal coverage and a one payer system (I worked in health care management for 20 years, and believe me dealing with Medicare or Medicaid is no worse then dealing with private insurance.) It doesn't have to be the "Cadillac" of coverage, but good basic insurance. Now to accomplish this means getting rid of Medicare / Medicaid and all other government health care programs. Provide every citizen with basic coverage, and then let those who want a better plan, pay for it through private insurance. Finance it through the existing funds for Care/Caid as well as through a payroll tax levied on any employee and employer who either doesn't have (employee) or doesn't offer (employer) coverage. If a company chooses to drop coverage they go into the pool of those employers paying for universal healthcare. This nonsense like here in California about "requiring" every one to buy insurance is just foolish. We do this with auto insurance don't we, and how many of you reading this either are uninsured (the best estimate is around 20% of drivers nationwide are uninsured) or carry uninsured driver coverage? That's worked well hasn't it?

Now before you bitch about "two levels of care", just stop..it already exists..if you want liposuction you pay for it yourself or though a private plan. Right now, people who have the money get better doctor's , faster visits, etc.. That is not going to change. Just as truly as there will be some rationing of care, no way around it...if people can have all of something they want for the same price as having just a bit, human nature being what it is will result in over utilization.

How Michael Moore would be treated by Cuba if he advocated democracy in Cuba is beside the point. It's not relevant to his documentary and is therefore not a relevant critique either.

Sure its relevant. If Michael Moore tried to use the same compilation of half-truths, bad edits, et al. in criticizing a totalitarian nation like Cuba, he'd go to jail. Moore is using CUBA as an example of something better than the U.S. -- there is a certain tragicomic irony in the fact that the U.S. government allows him to do this, but the Cuban government wouldn't.

trapdoor:

Sure its relevant. If Michael Moore tried to use the same compilation of half-truths, bad edits, et al. in criticizing a totalitarian nation like Cuba, he'd go to jail. Moore is using CUBA as an example of something better than the U.S. -- there is a certain tragicomic irony in the fact that the U.S. government allows him to do this, but the Cuban government wouldn't.

I'm guessing that you've never viewed any of Moore's movies and have no intention of seeing this one either.

It's absolutely irrelevant. This is not a movie about democracy, electronics, cars, or other "material goods", it's about health care. And you can debate whether or not universal health coverage should be a "right" or not, but what you cannot debate is that our ideological enemy, Cuba, thinks that it is a right and they do it pretty well. Unlike most people in this thread, I did see the movie last night, and he does provide somewhat of a love letter to the Cuban healthcare system, but for good reason. When he brought those 9/11 rescue workers there, two men and a woman who had been denied coverage repeatedly in the US, the Cuban facilities welcomed them with open arms. And I cried, too, with the EMT who was paying $120 for an Albuterol inhaler in the US, and paid 5cents for it in Havana. To say our system is broken is neither treasonous nor hyperbolic, as has been suggested, it is unassailable fact. For all their flaws, the Cubans do it better...and in this case, it did it better for OUR HEROES. For that, we should be ashamed.

If the Cuban medical system is so great, why is Castro flying in doctors from Spain for treatment. The intestinal disease he has is quite common, so it is not like he needs someone super specialized.

The Cuban system does provide good basic care, but I certainly would much rather get my treatment in the U.S. for anything serious.

If you would think for a second. What is the price of their system?

I'm sure he's too worried that his wonderful social system has produced too many doctors who would rather kill him than cure him.

Like those who have a good insurance policy, I'd get the top medical care in case I got sick. I'm lucky that my company pays for my health care even if I retire.

But if you're middle-class and unemployed, you can go to bankruptcy court after a serious illness/accident. Cuban's universal health care is good for the mass. I think that we should have a universal health care system that pays for basic health care needs. If you want to "upgrade" it, you can pay out of your pocket (like Australia).

I've seen most of, and read the entire script (its available on-line) of "Bowling for Columbine." I haven't seen his other films.

Why do you hate America?