I'll be the first to admit Michael Moore movies have some issues when it comes to validity.  Sure, he often makes some very good points, but many times he tends to bend the story just enough to make it shocking, or make erroneous assumptions or connections that may or may not be there.  He makes movies that focus on problems in our society, but instead of pointing these out for what they are, he tends to sensationalize them.  I think this only serves to validate those who think the way he does and piss off those who don't.  So in this regard, I think he is his own worst enemy - it makes everyone skeptical of ANY assertion he makes in the future. 

That said, I went to see "SiCKO" this weekend armed with some trepidation that he would be too "in-your-face" or he would make wild claims about the healthcare system.  He did not.  This was the best Michael Moore film I've seen (I realize that doesn't carry much weight with a lot of people)...he did rail on the healthcare system, but he did it in a way to promote change in our capitalist, industry (i.e. insurance co's and pharm/medical supply co's) driven healthcare system.  He addresses how and perhaps why so many people in the US are afraid of socialized medicine.  He doesn't claim that socialized medicine is necessarily the answer, but obviously what we have now isn't even close.  Medicare/Medicaid are both on the verge of folding, 15-20% of the population is uninsured, and even those who are insured are more often than not turned down by their insurance for many claims.  All this because the insurance and pharma companies have insane amounts of money and political power.  In fact, one point that Moore brings out is that people who work for huge insurance co's are paid bonuses for turning down a higher # of claims.  Why is this the system we defend so vehemently??

In my work as a clinical pharmacist, I very often have to battle against the opinions of physicians and other healthcare workers whose primary knowledge about a medicine is directly from the multi-million dollar corporation's salespeople.  Alternatively, when I was in pharmacy school and worked as an intern at Eckerd pharamcy, I spent WAY more time on the phone arguing with insurance companies about getting a medicine paid for than I did counseling patients on how to take their medicine.  The current system isn't about getting sick people better as much as about making the rich companies richer.  There are many more points to be discussed in regards to the current state of healthcare in the US, but I think everyone should at the very least go see this movie and form their own opinion.

Here's a link to the rotten tomatoes review of the movie - again, even if you hate Michael Moore, you'll probably find a lot you'll like in this movie.  He puts a lot less of himself in the movie for one thing!

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sicko/

I'd like to hear comments if/when anyone sees this film...
Brian