Public Policy-formulation and implementation

(A review is being submitted as a partial requirement of the course)

Submitted to: Dr. Amir Saeed
Submitted by: Muhammad Ahmed Sheikh
Roll No. 12
Institute of Administrative Sciences, niversity of t!e Pun"ab, #a!ore
Revie$ on %ocumentary &ovie titled ' Sicko
Introduction
The presenter of video documentar has made American !ealth"are Sstem (that
includes !ealth "are# !ealth $nsurance and %harmaceutical $ndustr) as his focal theme
which according to him need be reformed and restructured into a sstem which he
romantici&ed as Sociali&ed Medicine (i.e. Medical and !ospital "are for all at a nominal
cost b means of 'overnment (egulations of !ealth "are and subsid derived from
ta)ation). The author tries to show that the healthcare industr is a ma&e of blinding
bureaucrac and callous indifference. The author filmed and contrasted for*profit# non*
+niversal and ,%M based +.S health "are sstem with those in vogue in -rance# 'reat
.ritain# "anada and "uba which are working on the ver ethos of ,on*%rofitabilit#
universalit# need# well*being and moralit.
(ac)*round
The documentar is not about /0 Million +S "iti&ens who do not get an !ealth
-acilit but about 1/0 Million Americans who have !ealth $nsurance +mbrella but
health facilities are still a long wa from them. The get indiscreet treatment on the part
of $nsurance "ompanies which have profitabilit and mone ma)imi&ation their sole
raison deter. The companies e)ploit ever means possible to avoid actuall paing for
their customers demand. This callousness and skepticism on the part of $nsurance
companies degenerates into emergencies occasionall talking tolls of customers in form
of their lives.
The fortunate ones who live would stuck with substantial medical bills. The
decline funding the lifesaving operations on g 2ne woman was denied an operation to
remove her brain tumor because the insurance compan said it was 3non*life*
threatening.4 Then she died rounds of would*be procedural lapses# technicalities and
whimsical reasons.
A scene was filmed where a woman was denied an operation to remove her brain
tumor because the insurance compan said it was 3non*life*threatening.4 5ater on# she
died.
6nabling them are their hundreds of lobbists# whom Moore sas outnumber
members of "ongress 7*to*8. .ill Tau&in helped get the Medicare %rescription Drug .ill
passed# which helps the pharmaceutical companies make more mone. Then what did
he do9 !e left "ongress and took a :ob as the "62 of the drug industr;s main lobbing
organi&ation. !e knew the real mone was to be had in pharmaceuticals# not "ongress.
Moore takes us to several foreign countries that have universal health care# where
citi&ens (and even visitors) get everthing for free or almost*free# paid for b the
government. The hope is that we will see the merits of these sstems and create
something similar for ourselves.
And the certainl do seem appealing. Moore informs us with ee*opening
instances. $n 6ngland# not onl is our hospital sta free# but the will even reimburse
ou if ou had to take a bus to get there< $n -rance# doctors make house calls< $n "uba#
prescriptions cost a nickel< $n "anada# everone has their own personal doctor assigned
to live in their house# and the average citi&en lives to be 8/0(which seems imaginar).
2ne sub:ect Moore does address smartl is the reason a lot of Americans don;t
want universal health care= because another term for it is 3sociali&ed medicine#4 and if
we allow socialism to infiltrate an part of our societ# then the ne)t thing ou know
we;re marching through (ed Square with hammer*and*sickle flags. Americans# as a rule#
don;t like anthing that sounds like socialism# and Moore has the amusing clips from an
old anti*socialism educational film (narrated b (onald (eagan<) to prove it.
The problem with that argument# as Moore e)plains# is man elements of
American societ alread A(6 sociali&ed. >ou get mail delivered to our house for free#
ou send our kids to school for free# ou can call the fire department for free# ou can
borrow books from the librar for free# ou can call the cops to investigate a crime for
free. 6verone has access to those things# and no one has to pa for it# e)cept through
their ta) dollars. Sociali&ed medicine works e)actl the same wa. $f we trust the
government to hire teachers to educate us# and firefighters and cops to protect us (and
there are private alternatives we can pa for if we don;t)# wh don;t we trust them to hire
doctors to cure us9
>et there;s that underling kernel of legitimac. As it happens# these sick Americans do
get e)cellent treatment in "uba. Some of them are given procedures and prescriptions
that the;ve needed for months# but that their insurance companies refused to pa for.