News of the Day ... In Perspective

Cuban medicine for ordinary people

According to Wikipedia, Michael Moore�s film Sicko debuted in the U.S. on June 22, 2007, earning $4.6 million in 441 theatres and achieving the second highest opening weekend for a documentary, after Fahrenheit 9/11. Nursing associations held many private screenings, to help disseminate the call for socialized medicine.

Volunteers from 9/11 purportedly got red-carpet treatment and excellent medical attention that was denied to them in the United States. Now, �as seen in Sicko,� Havana Hospital is open for medical tourism.

The film implied that despite their poverty, Cubans at least have wonderful medical treatment�and it�s free!

For a candid look at the care really received by Cubans, visit www.therealcuba.com. We thank Greg Scandlen of Consumers for Health Care Choices for passing along the link.

And for the real views of a native Canadian, a clip of whose appearance on the O�Reilly Factor was used to introduce the Sicko segment on Canada, see �More Lies from Moore� by Sally Pipes, New York Daily News 7/6/07.

Additional information:

• �Sick, Sicker, and Sickest,� AAPS News, August 2007.