SICKO IS AS SICKO DOES.

The Sheep and the Goats – Matthew 25:31-46

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Whatever else you may think of Michael Moore, he is very good at two things: making an entertaining movie, and making you squirm in your seat. His latest film Sicko is a case in point; it takes a serious and critical look at the current state of health care in the United States. Like his other films – Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling For Columbine, and Roger and Me – Moore is hardly objective in his criticism of the current problems in America’s health care system. And while some of his data might be faulty – for instance he states that the average cost of health care for each U.S. citizen is $7500 compared with $25 for the average Cuban citizen, when in fact the actual numbers are $6096 and $226 respectively – Moore has on point nailed three undeniable truths.

1. Health care in the United States is run by the Insurance and Pharmaceutical industries. Both of these industries care about one and only one thing: how much profit they can make for their investors. Denying health care is an essential vehicle in increasing profit for the insurance industry, and prescribing medication – whether it is needed or not – is equally vital to the pharmaceutical industry. Both of these industries have spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying the United States government in an attempt to thwart even the suggestion of a universal health care system.

2. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the Western hemisphere NOT to have a universal health care system. Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan all have such systems and all enjoy the fruits of health care with no out of pocket expense. While there may be some issues with all of the universal systems, these “issues” have been dramatically blown out of proportion by the American media. France, vilified by the conservative press in this country, has the number one rated health care system in the world!

3. There is a rabid paranoia over any mention of such a system of universal health care within the United States. Those who attempt to do so are branded Communist and / or unpatriotic. Virtually every politician who has taken up the issue of universal health care has either been defeated or been forced to “see the light.” Hillary Clinton, as former First Lady, once championed the cause of universal health care. Now, as the Democratic frontrunner for the Presidency, she has been strangely mute on the subject. Not coincidentally, she also has received almost a million dollars in campaign contributions from the insurance lobby – the largest percentage among Democrats. Hmmm.

It didn’t take long for Moore’s detractors to come out swinging against Sicko. Websites like freemarketcure.com are advocating that what is needed most is for the Congress to administer a strong dose of capitalism. “Cures” such as reducing the size of the FDA (you know that agency that determines if the drug or food you’re consuming is poisonous or not); giving grants to the states for Medicaid spending thus reducing overall costs of funding the program (where have we heard that one before?); and instituting HSA’s - Health Savings Accounts - to individuals that would act like the school voucher program proposal, allowing participants to “opt” out of an insurance plan that they don’t like. (Curiously, such proponents fail to point out that such defections from current health care plans would mean an increase in premiums for those still left in them. That increase would be born on both the employee AND the employer. Just goes to show you that even capitalists forget to use their calculator from time to time!)

No health care plan is perfect, that is for sure. But it is time for the United States to wake up and smell the anesthesia. Allowing almost 50 million people to be without health insurance is criminal; and yes, in spite of anything you may hear to the contrary like some “prefer” not to be insured, there are almost 50 million uninsured. Allowing those who do have insurance to be denied treatment on strictly financial grounds is equally criminal. And in a supposedly Christian nation, for us not be out front on this issue belies the very principles we espouse most.

There are many things that a free-market, capitalist society brings to the table, and certainly no sane person would wish for a society where we are told what to buy, what to do, what to say, and where to go. But a truly free-market approach to health care is simply inconsistent with a compassionate and caring society, and ultimately in such a society we all pay for its shortcomings, either morally (through our burning consciences) or financially (by subsidizing substandard care for us all).

The words of Jesus serve as a warning to us all. Isn’t time we heed them?