by Karyn L. Beach

He's taken on car companies, America's gun culture and 9/11, now Michael Moore takes on another controversial topic, America's healthcare system, in Sicko. It's common knowledge (or it should be) that 46 million Americans are currently living without health insurance. But as Moore says early on in his documentary, this film isn't about them. No, this film is for the millions of us who are insured.

Moore's film pretty much falls into three parts. In part one, he talks to people who have had nightmarish experiences with their health insurance. He interviews several former health insurance workers who reveal the lengths they went through to deny coverage to the insured. The most scary and most compelling stories come from people who have been victimized by the system - a woman who lost her 18-month old daughter because the ambulance went to the wrong hospital and her insurance wouldn't cover the child's treatment there; another woman who lost her husband to kidney cancer (despite having a brother who was a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant); and, a woman who's surgery was initial covered and then later denied because she hadn't disclosed on her insurance application that she had once had - gasp - a yeast infection!

In part two, Moore takes us internationally from Canada to England to France to see how universal health care really works. He talks to patients and doctors and American expatriates on the differences between the systems. Part three is the most controversial. Moore finds several 9/11 rescue workers who've spent the past few years battling a series of ailments. Because these rescue workers came from surrounding areas to offer assistance, they weren't eligible to participate in any of the funds set aside to assist NYC 9/11 workers. As a result, they've spent the better part of five years fighting a variety of conditions from pulmonary and heart-related illnesses to post-traumatic stress disorder and its side effects. Ironically, Moore states, the terrorists suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have better access to health care than these selfless rescue workers. So, in true Michael Moore fashion, he loads everyone on a boat and heads to Guantanamo. However, they end up in Cuba where Moore finally manages to get some needed medical attention to his shipmates.

I just had a conversation with a friend about the difference between journalism and documentaries. I think it bears repeating here. Journalists are tasks with the job of informing the public. As such, they need to be objective and should work to be balanced - to present both sides of the story. Documentary filmmakers are more like columnist or opinion writers. Their job is to prove their point, to make their argument. They will use the facts that bolster their argument and disregard those that don't. They don't have to be balanced and most are not. Going into any Michael Moore film (or documentary for that matter) you should keep that in mind.

Moore paints universal health care as the cure-all for all of America's health insurance woes. When he talks to the Canadians and the English and the French, you'd think they were all in health care heaven and us, well, we'd be in health care hell. He doesn't talk to any dissenters in any of those countries who might not be happy with their current systems.

The people Moore interviews have some compelling stories, especially those insured people in the first segment who discuss the difficulties they've had getting a claim approved. Those of us who fell secure because we have insurance will be in for a wake-up call. That first part alone is enough of a reason to see this film.

At just under two hours, Siciko did drag a bit but Moore obviously had a lot of say. I think it's definitely worth the time but please don't walk away from this thinking that you've heard the whole story because you haven't.