What effect do you think Sicko will have on the political scene?

My optimistic prediction is that health care will become topic no. 1 -- not right away necessarily, but by the time of the election. I also predict that Sicko will boost interest in Democratic candidates (finally someone cares about my problem)-- that Republicans' will scramble to find arguments for their completely impractical plan for health savings account (meaningless to anyone making less than 6 digits per year). Further, big health care companies will spend even more than ever on their campaigning.

You simply can't say, "I support universal health care" anymore. The people, especially the grassroots, will want to know the details of the plan. The devil is in the details.

,...politics about what it was suppose to be, in the first place: THE PEOPLE not the fucking elite.

That's merely a hope in a quagmire of corporatism KILLING OFF DEMOCRATIC NOTIONS EVERY DAMN DAY.

A sliver of hope.

It's enough.

Was that in the movie?

:shrug:

I'm so sick of profit profit profit uber alles.

:puke:

they'll make plasma tv's cheaper, and everybody will forget when football season comes around.

somehow the viewpoint in sicko will be branded "radical" the healthcare and insurance lobby will throw ungodly sums at paid disruptors, the news media, and PR campaigns, and they will have their way until the government is no longer a subsidiary of corporate power.

who are pretty much conditioned to see healthcare from the corporate point of view. At the company I work for we were told "talking points" would be coming out soon. I prefer to call them propaganda. Goebels' ghost is working on it at this moment.

and that's all.

could not bring down Chimpy then I doubt Sicko will have much of an impact on anything. Sorry, I am usually not this negative.

Terrorism and the Iraq War are things that only occasionally really touch the lives of ordinary Americans. Ordinary people are frightened by the idea of terrorism and confused and knee-jerk patriotic when it comes to war. All they know is that Hussein was apparently a bad guy so getting him out was OK even needed.

But health care is something people know a lot about. Most of us have good doctors, but if we or anyone we know has a serious illness, we find out first hand just how greedy the health insurance companies are. The secret to bringing in single payer insurance is to let people know that they get to keep the doctor they like. Nothing will change on the level of the caregiver. You will get the same or better care you get now only everyone will get decent preventative and other needed care and in the end we will pay less. That is the real point of single payer insurance. Same doctors, same specialists, better, more accessible care. I base that on my years of living on the economies of (four) different European countries and using their health insurance systems. Think of it. You pay for the insurance when you are well and making a good living. And during that time you get preventive medicine and care for incidental problems like the flu or pneumonia or childbirth. If something so serious happens that you can't work for a period of time or for a long time, you still have health care. The quality of coverage does not go down just because you can't work because you are sick.

Everyone wonders why the Europeans have fewer lawsuits than we do. Well, think of it. In this country, if you have a serious accident and are injured, you have to hire a lawyer, go to court, blame someone for causing your accident and persuade a jury to make the person you sue pay for your healthcare. In a country with single payer insurance, you don't need to go after someone in order to pay for your healthcare. Worker's Comp costs could be consolidated into health insurance coverage. That too could save employers some money in the long run.

there may be speeches, investigations, committees...but ultimately- a big fat goose egg, change-for-the-better-wise.

had problems obtaining care under their health insurance plans. They will CALL for reform. That will satisfy those dysfunctional people who are satisfied with words but not actions.

They will then have hand open, palm up in order to accept the checks from Aetna, UnitedHealth "care" and Anthem/Wellpoint.

I think people will come out with their stories of working with their insurance companies, but I don't expect any real systemic change, not out of this bunch.

Will the profits the movie makes outweigh the money insurance companies throws at it? What's a media conglomerate to do???

It's interesting to see that the movie is being heavily promoted...money put behind it Disney didn't throw behind F911...and that must say something. The focus groups must show there's big interest in this issue and Moore's not ruffling political feathers this time. This is being viewed like another "Roger And Me" and Moore's been careful to cultivate it that way.

Healthcare already is a major political topic...this movie may just bring it up into the light for a little bit. When I worked on campaigns, this was always an important topic with voters and it truly cuts across party lines...everyone's been screwed by an insurance company.

This is also about these companies playing god...determining what care a doctor can give or the treatment a person gets according to an actuary table. It's a cold-blooded, and long overdue, view of healthcare as an industry...and one that makes a lot of money. Sadly, there are Democrats who benefit as much as Repugnicans when it comes to taking the money...thus I think the impact, if there's any, will be negative across the board. This won't change minds...just reinforce the anger and frustration many already feel.

The people that need convincing won't see it and rely on the people they blindly follow for analysis. It's like everything else now. No real or substantive conversations on real problems.

Do the words "Harry and Louise" mean anything to you?

The LAST time we tried to do anything healthcare related in this country, the fucking National Federation of Independent Business, which is the most evil lobbying group in the entire country, paired up with the insurance industry to attack the hell out of it.

I Googled this shit just now. It seems that after they exploited the dittoheads, exploited the media, ran the Harry and Louise ad and did all this other attack shit, the Wall Street Journal had a panel. They brought in a group of ordinary Americans, read them descriptions of a lot of healthcare reform plans without identifying them, and asked which one was best. Most of them said the very best plan was Clinton's. Then they were told the plan was Clinton's; almost all of them opposed it because it was obvious Clinton's plan wouldn't work--everyone knows that.

Corporations will be too. It will take that big responsibility off of their shoulders.