BMJ  2007;335 (7 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.39266.573056.47

Editor's Choice

Editor's choice

Dealing in extremes

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In Michael Moore's film Sicko, reviewed this week (doi: 10.1136/bmj.39262.638588.59), a woman in Britain is surprised to be asked how much the birth of her baby cost. She has no idea. Meanwhile, the threat of a $60 000 bill forces a man in America to choose which of his severed fingers will be reattached. Moore wants the US to have a single payer system, and the response to his film (doi: 10.1136/bmj.39258.421111.DB) shows that he is far from alone. His polemic exposes the damage to individuals and society that is caused by a system in which competing insurance companies have no reason to care what happens to unprofitable patients.

The film may prove to be a tipping point for US health care in the dog days of the Bush regime. But Moore's rose tinted portrayal of Europe's health systems will raise a hollow laugh from anyone devilling . . . [Full text of this article]

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