Americans cheer "SiCKO," but not all convinced

By Andrea HopkinsThu Jul 12, 5:06 PM ET
Fresh from the hospital and still hurting from a $757 prescription drug bill, moviegoer Ron Jackson emerged from a screening of Michael Moore's documentary on the U.S. health system feeling outraged and exuberant.
"It's a great movie," said Jackson, 63. "I have insurance, and I still paid over $700 for one prescription -- just 30 days' worth. They've let Wall Street control the whole thing, it's as plain as the nose on my face."
Weeks into the staggered release of Moore's "SiCKO" across the United States, moviegoing Americans have revived the debate over national health care -- a staple in most of the developed world, but long resisted in the United States.
Health-care reform is a hot topic in the 2008 presidential campaign, and a slew of candidates have promised changes to bring better care to both insured Americans and the nation's 45 million uninsured.
Atia Huff, 64, said she was heartened by the applause that broke out at the end of the movie but worried only those who already agreed with Moore's outlook would bother to attend.
"I think it's preaching to the choir," Huff said.
Moore won an Academy Award for 2002's anti-gun documentary "Bowling for Columbine." He made more enemies -- and drew the label "enemy of America" from the right -- with a critical look at President George W. Bush's war on terrorism in his 2004 documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."
"SiCKO" tells the stories of Americans who say they were denied life-saving treatment by insurers. The film has received mixed reviews, with some criticizing it for a lack of substantive comparison of the U.S. health-care system with that of countries that offer universal health care.
'IT'LL NEVER BE FIXED'
"It should be compulsory viewing for everybody, but some people don't want to hear," said Huff, a retired interpreter. She said she's already seen the movie twice -- the first time with a school teacher who said she'd worked too hard for her health-care benefits to pay for those who hadn't.
"I'm very pessimistic it will ever change," Huff said.
Many Americans remain firmly opposed to universal care.
"We are not a socialist country .... If our system is so poor, how is it we have one of the highest standards of living in the world?" asked Cincinnati electrician and businessman Mike Cavanaugh, who offers health insurance to his workers.
"Anyone, and I mean almost anyone, who is willing to go to work 40 or 50 hours a week and pretty much just do the minimum can have a decent life here," he said. "Tell Michael Moore to find a new home if he cannot appreciate the blessings this great country has bestowed upon him."
But in downtown Washington, Tom and Sue Stevens left a "SiCKO" screening more convinced than ever that the United States should adopt universal health care.
"We are ready, but the politicians and the businessmen are not. The health-care industry certainly is going to oppose this for all they're worth," said Tom, a college professor.
Sue, a retired medical technician, said she'd seen hospital administrators fight to contain costs for needed care.
"Everything now is based on cost -- how much money they can save. And a lot of people that work in hospitals themselves can't afford the insurance that hospitals offer because their pay is so low," she said.
In New York City, 75-year-old Philip Peppis said he was ready to vote for change in November 2008.
"How did this country get so completely selfish?" he asked after leaving a "SiCKO" matinee. "It's really embarrassing, the way this country treats people."
But in Columbus, Ohio, small business owner Sherry Pymer said she had no intention of seeing the movie and would never support universal health care.
"I'd be very, very afraid of that. You hear the stories about how bad health care is in Canada," said Pymer, 55. "Michael Moore is nothing to me. He's just somebody looking to get a big rise out of somebody."
(Additional reporting by Stephanie Beasley in Washington and Karen Brettell in New York)