Submitted by Maria Black, Sep 19, 2007 17:42

I think most people who are against Michael Moore's premise in the movie 'Sicko' are missing the point, in that we, (America), need to take a better look into our own system of healthcare for sick people in this country. Healthcare can't just be for people who have money, everyone in this country should have fair access to good healthcare.

I spent several weeks in three cities in Cuba, Havanna being one of them. My group visited a local hospital and we visited a 'neighborhood clinic' and spoke extensively with one of the neighborhood doctors. She, the doctor, told me they make regular, weekly/monthly appointments for their patients in their region. For the most part they keep those appointments. She told me that they will also go to a patient's home if they miss one of those checkups. She did make a point of saying, that because they are a poor country, the HAVE TO practice preventative medicine to keep costs down.

She said they (Cubans) have alot of the same medical issues we (America) have, heart disease, diabetes and excess weight. And she also told me that many times they have to send patients with very serious or specialty surgeries to other countries such as Spain for treatment. It's not a perfect healthcare system by any means. And she made a point of telling our group that there was no difference in treatment of care, whether it be a politician or a cab driver in town.

And as Brad mentioned in his email, yes, they don't have many of the basics such as aspirin, advil, OTC pain relievers, heck one woman told us they ration out sanitary napkins to women and girls...because HELLO, there's a 40 plus year old blockade in place.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was a medical reporter from Memphis, at the time of my visit, however, I was not there with a group of journalists. I did not discuss my profession with any of the locals we spoke to either. My group was made up of retired and active university professors, school teachers, and attorneys. We were there to hear from their historians and professors on Africa's influence on Cuba. I have since moved from Tennessee to Virginia.

I just think proving Moore's asertions wrong doesn't prove US right.

Maria

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.