http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article_10017.php

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July 10th, 2007 12:19 am
'SiCKO' Truth Squad Sets CNN Straight

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN: "(Moore says) the United States slipped to number 37
in the world's health care systems. It's true. ... Moore brings a group of
patients, including 9/11 workers, to Cuba and marvels at their free
treatment and quality of care. But hold on - that WHO list puts Cuba's
health care system even lower than the United States, coming in at #39."

THE TRUTH:

a.. "But hold on?" 'SiCKO' clearly shows the WHO list, with the United
States at number #37, and Cuba at #39. Right up on the screen in big
five-foot letters. It's even in the trailer! CNN should have its reporter
see his eye doctor. The movie isn't hiding from this fact. Just the
opposite.
b.. The fact that the healthcare system in an impoverished nation crippled
by our decades-old blockade (including medical supplies and drugs) ranks so
closely to ours is more an indictment of the American system than the Cuban
system.
c.. Although Cuba ranks lower overall than the United States, it still has
a lower infant mortality rate and longer life span. (see below)
d.. And unlike the United States, Cuba offers healthcare to absolutely
everyone. In an independent Gallup poll conducted in Cuba, "a near unanimous
96 percent of respondents say that health care in Cuba is accessible to
everyone." ("Cubans Show Little Satisfaction with Opportunities and
Individual Freedom Rare Independent Survey Finds Large Majorities Are Still
Proud of Island's Health Care and Education," January 10, 2007.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brlatinamericara/
300.php?nid=&id=&pnt=300&lb=brla)

CNN: "Moore asserts that the American health care system spends $7,000 per
person on health. Cuba spends $25 dollars per person. Not true. But not too
far off. The United States spends $6,096 per person, versus $229 per person
in Cuba."

(Gupta corrected himself on this point tonight on CNN.)

THE TRUTH:

a.. According to our own government - the Department of Health and Human
Services' National Health Expenditures Projections - the United States will
spend $7,092 per capita on health in 2006 and $7,498 in 2007. (Department of
Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures,
National Health Expenditures Projections 2006-2016.
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/proj2006.pdf)
b.. As for Cuba - Dr. Gupta and CNN need to watch 'SiCKO' first before
commenting on it. 'SiCKO' says Cuba spends $251 per person on health care,
not $25, as Gupta reports. And the BBC reports that Cuba's per capita health
expenditure is. $251! (Keeping Cuba Healthy, BBC, Aug. 1 2006.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/5232628.stm ) This is
confirmed by the United Nations Human Development Report, 2006. Yup, Cuba
spends $251 per person on health care.
(http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/52.html). As Gupta points
out, the World Health Organization does calculate Cuba's per capita health
expenditure at $229 per person. We chose to use the UN numbers, a minor
difference - and $229 is a lot closer to $251 than $25.

CNN: In fact, Americans live just a little bit longer than Cubans on
average.

THE TRUTH:

a.. Just the opposite. The 2006 United Nations Human Development Report's
human development index states the life expectancy in the United States is
77.5 years. It is 77.6 years in Cuba. (Human Development Report 2006, United
Nations Development Programme, 2006 at 283.
http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/pdfs/report/HDR06-complete.pdf)

CNN: The United States ranks highest in patient satisfaction.

THE TRUTH:

a.. True, but even when the WHO took patient satisfaction into account in
its comprehensive review of the world's health systems, we still came in at
#37. ("World Health Organization Assesses The World's Health Systems," Press
Release, WHO/44, June 21, 2000.
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-44.html ).
b.. Patients may be satisfied in America, but not everyone gets to be a
patient. 47 million are uninsured and are rarely patients - until it's too
late. In the rest of the Western world, everyone and anyone can be a patient
because everyone is covered. (And don't face exclusions for pre-existing
conditions, co-pays, deductibles, and costly monthly premiums).
c.. It's not that other countries are unhappy with their health care - for
example, "70 to 80 percent of Canadians find their waiting times
acceptable." ("Access to health care services in Canada, Waiting times for
specialized services (January to December 2005)," Statistics Canada,
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-575-XIE/82-575-XIE2006002.htm )

CNN: Americans have shorter wait times than everyone but Germans when
seeking non-emergency elective procedures, like hip replacement, cataract
surgery, or knee repair.

THE TRUTH:

a.. This isn't the whole truth. CNN pulled out a statistic about elective
procedures. Of the six countries surveyed in that study (United States,
Canada, New Zealand, UK, Germany, Australia) only Canada had longer waiting
times than America for sick adults waiting to schedule a doctor's
appointment for a medical problem. 81% of patients in New Zealand got a same
or next-day appointment for a non-routine visit, 71% in Britain, 69% in
Germany, 66% in Australia, 47% in the U.S., and 36% in Canada. (The Doc's
in, but It'll be AWhile. Catherine Arnst, Business Week. June 22, 2007
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2007/
tc20070621_716260_page_2.htm)
b.. "Gerard Anderson, a Johns Hopkins health policy professor who has
spent his career examining the world's healthcare, said there are delays,
but not as many as conservatives state. In Canada, the United Kingdom and
France, 'three percent of hospital discharges had delays in treatment,'
Anderson told The Miami Herald. 'That's a relatively small number, and
they're all elective surgeries, such as hip and knee replacement.' (John
Dorschner, "'SiCKO' film is set to spark debate; Reformers are gearing up
for 'Sicko,' the first major movie to examine America's often maligned
healthcare system," Miami Herald, June 29, 2007.)
c.. One way America is able to achieve decent waiting times is that it
leaves 47 million people out of the health care system entirely, unlike any
other Western country. When you remove 47 million people from the line, your
wait should be shorter. So why is the U.S. second to last in wait times?
d.. And there are even more Americans who keep themselves out of the
system because of cost - in the United States, 24 percent of the population
did not get medical care due to cost. That number is 5 percent in Canada,
and 3 percent in the UK. (Inequities in Health Care: A Five-Country Survey.
Robert Blendon et al, Health Affairs. Exhibit 5.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/21/3/182)

CNN: (PAUL KECKLEY-Deloitte Health Care Analyst): "The concept that care is
free in France, in Canada, in Cuba - and it's not. Those citizens pay for
health services out of taxes. As a proportion of their household income,
it's a significant number . (GUPTA): It's true that the French pay higher
taxes, and so does nearly every country ahead of the United States on that
list."

THE TRUTH:

a.. 'SiCKO' never claims that health care is provided absolutely for free
in other countries, without tax contributions from citizens. Former MP Tony
Benn reads from the NHS founding pamphlet, which explicitly states that
"this is not a charity. You are paying for it mainly as taxpayers." 'SiCKO'
also acknowledges that the French are "drowning in taxes." Comparatively,
many Americans are drowning in insurance premiums, deductibles, co-pays and
medical debt and the resulting threat of bankruptcy - half of all
bankruptcies in the United States are triggered by medical bills. (Medical
Bills Make up Half of Bankruptcies. Feb. 2005, MSNBC.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6895896/)

CNN: "But even higher taxes don't guarantee the coverage everyone wants .
(KECKLEY): 15 to 20 percent of the population will purchase services outside
the system of care run by the government."

THE TRUTH:

a.. It's not clear what country Keckley is referring to. In the United
Kingdom, only 11.5 percent of the population has supplementary insurance,
but it doesn't take the place of NHS insurance. Nobody in France buys
insurance that replaces government insurance either, although a substantial
amount buys some form of complimentary insurance. ( Private health insurance
and access to health care in the European Union. Spring 2004.
http://www.euro.who.int/document/Obs/EuroObserver6_1.pdf)

CNN: "But no matter how much Moore fudged the facts, and he did fudge some
facts."

a.. This is libel. There is not a single fact that is "fudged" in the
film. No one has proven a single fact in the film wrong. We expect CNN to
correct their mistakes on the air and to apologize to their viewers.
(This is the same nonsense that CNN pulled with "Farenheit 9/11". They lied
then.
They are lying now. In fact, Moore proved that CNN was lying. CNN did not
apologize.)

They are lying now. In fact, Moore proved that CNN was lying. CNN did not
apologize.)