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FEATURE: Vidhya Alakeson America’s health choices BMJ 2008; 337: a1563 [Full text]

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There is Moore to this story

Rhys H Thomas   (5 October 2008)

There is Moore to this story 5 October 2008
Rhys H Thomas, Clinical Fellow Wales Epilepsy Research Network, Swansea University, SA2 8PP Send response to journal: Re: There is Moore to this story	America’s next health choice may as well concern deckchair feng shui on the Titanic if the problem of inadequate health coverage for insured Americans is not tackled. Health bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America, devastating two million people a year.(1) The majority of these people had health insurance. Any Briton who has ever had a claim rejected because of a technicality is acutely aware that the insurance industry is no charity. Scrutinising insurance contracts to avoid a payout is big business on both sides of the pond. Just as being priced out of the market by inflated premiums may prevent our patients from purchasing adequate holiday insurance, it would be an obstacle between them and appropriate healthcare too. Vidhya Alakeson suggests that it is the three quarters of Americans who rate their health insurance as good or excellent that may dissuade the Presidential candidates from proposing major health reforms. There are, in fact, over thirty million other reasons. Health and Political Action Committees (as of September 2008) donated $34.7million to Presidential Candidates (55% Democrats) and the three highest recipients of health industry donations are (in order) Senators Obama, Clinton and McCain.(2) Anyone with a passing interest in America’s health choices (3) should not pass up the opportunity to view Michael Moore’s Oscar nominated healthcare documentary ‘Sicko’ (2007).(4) The tales of the insured victims of the American system are told in a biased yet courageous and moving manner. 1) Himmelstein DU, Warren E, Thorne D, Woolhandler S. MarketWatch: Illness And Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy. Health Affairs, 2005; 10.1377 2) www.opensecrets.org (accessed Oct 4th 2008) 3) Vidhya Alakeson America’s health choices BMJ 2008; 337: a1563 4) www.michaelmoore.com (accessed Oct 4th 2008) Competing interests: None declared