Sicko Page #9

I was in a daze, a real daze.

It just didn't seem real.

I just held her.

I held her and I told her

that Mommy tried her best to help her,

to make sure that she was gonna

get the treatment she needed to receive.

And that I was sorry

that I wasn't able to help her.

(toy) Simon says: Give the answer.

(# computerized tune)

Uh-oh.

(Moore) This is Karena

and her daughter Zo.

Karena is a graduate

of Michigan State University.

And a native of my hometown

of Flint. Michigan.

Six months ago. Zo.

Like Dawnelle's baby Mychelle.

Came down with a high fever.

What happened

is she stopped breathing for a little while,

turned blue and passed out

in my arms, which was...

It was the most horrible moment

in my life, I think,

just because I thought

that she was either dead or dying.

And I had no clue what to do.

At the hospital, they gave her

some medicine to bring the fever down,

and examined her, took some blood.

- (Moore) What was wrong with her?

- It was a throat infection.

But we stayed at the hospital

from Friday to Sunday,

- just so they could keep an eye on her.

- You stayed there that long?

Yeah. They just basically

kept an eye on her.

And how much did all this cost you,

the three-plus days in the hospital?

- Nothing.

- Nothing?

- Nothing. Nothing at all.

- And that's because?

- I live in France.

- You live in France?

Yeah.

(Moore) Ah. France.

They enjoy their wine.

Their cigarettes and their fatty foods.

And yet.

Just like the Canadians and the Brits.

They live much longer than we do.

Something about that

seemed grossly unfair.

This is Alexi Cremieux.

He spent his entire adult life in the US

without health insurance.

(Alexi) I lived in America for 13 years.

I loved my life there.

But then when I discovered that I had

a tumor and I didn't have health insurance,

unfortunately,

I had to come back here.

Even though I had never paid taxes

in France 'cause I never worked here -

I left when I was 18,

I had no Social Security number -

for them it was,

"He needs treatment, he has no income,

so we're gonna give him,

you know, the treatment he needs."

- (Moore) How are you doing now?

- I'm healthy now,

but I had three months

of chemotherapy.

So after three months, I saw my doctor

and he said, "You wanna go back to work?"

I said, "No, I don't feel like it."

"Right now, I'm not ready."

He said, "How much do you need?"

I said, "Well, I don't know."

He said, "Would three months be OK?"

I said, "I think three months

would be fine."

He said, "OK, so take three months off."

So he wrote me a note

that I gave to my employer

to make sure I got paid.

- So I went to the south of France...

- Wait a minute, three months off with pay?

Yes. Yes.

I get 65% paid by the government,

and then the other 35%

is paid by my employer.

To make sure you get 100%.

So it was April, it was spring again. So

I started right away, sucking up some sun.

And that really helped me a lot,

to recharge my batteries.

I mean, it was like night and day. In three

months, I went from a 95-year-old man

to a 35-year-old man again.

But that's because I had that time

to take care of myself.

I'm not in a position to make any judgment

concerning the American system.

I think the United States

is a great, great country.

Americans are great people.

I really love them.

But as a doctor first, as a citizen second,

and eventually, as a patient third,

I'm very glad to be in France.

It's kind of a luxury here.

You are sick, you step in a hospital,

you get the care you need.

It doesn't depend on your premiums.

It depends on what you need.

One of the principles is solidarity.

People who are better off

pay for those who are worse off.

You pay according to your means

and you receive according to your needs.

(Moore) Do you think

that will ever work in America?

No.

(Moore) He could barely contain

his seething anti-Americanism.

And I just didn't want

to listen to any more of it.

So I found a group of Americans

currently living in Paris.

Who I know would tell me the truth.

I was diagnosed five years ago

with Type I diabetes.

- I was a bit nervous to tell them I had...

- (Moore) To tell the French?

There's a place to check off

if you have a chronic condition.

I was nervous that they

were going to charge me more.

And instead, I went into a hospital,

and had round-the-clock care.

And they do an amazing amount

of preventative care.

They asked if you have

a preexisting condition,

not to punish you,

but to give you more help?

- Yes.

- I was in the hospital for a year.

As soon as I was in, it was,

"Well, don't worry, just rest."

- People said "Rest."

- How many sick days do you get a year?

- I think it's unlimited.

- Unlimited?

Yes. How can you limit sick days?

If you're sick, you're sick.

I've gone to emergency rooms

numerous times, with four boys.

And have never waited

more than an hour. Never.

I can call and somebody comes

to the house in half an hour.

No way? Making a house call?

At your place?

How many of you have had

a house call from a doctor? No!

- 3:
00am last Friday.

- And how much does this cost you?

- Nothing.

- What's this service called?

Where are we going?

We are going to see a man

who has abdominal pain.

- Abdominal pain?

- Yeah.

- Where do we go next?

- The next visit?

(# "L'amour est bleu"

by Vicky Leandros)

I say to anyone who asks me

why I'm in this country

is that I think it's one of the friendliest

countries that I know of.

And talk about family values -

I mean, childcare, healthcare...

We don't pay for day care.

The day care where I send my daughter -

and I was a teacher - standards are high.

So how much does it cost you to have

two children here? How much per hour?

(Moore) Are you happy

with how they're cared for?

Here, my kids are sure that they are going

to get a certain level of care, education,

- college I don't have to worry about...

- (Moore) What do you mean?

- It's free.

- (Moore) You're kidding?

- You can get a college education for free.

- (Moore) No way.

- Yes.

- There's not a sense of desperation.

They rest, they enjoy life.

They spend time with their kids,

there's vacations, family time.

- How many weeks of paid vacation?

- Minimum five weeks.

Five weeks?

Minimum of five weeks?

If you work for a large company,

you get sometimes eight, ten weeks.

- Remember that there is a 35-hour week.

- The productivity rate is so high here.

(Moore) I read it was higher

than the United States.

If they're working more than 35 hours

a week, they'll get extra days off.

That is for part-time

and full-time employees.

You get five weeks paid vacation

even if you're a part-time employee?

- Of course.

- Everybody.

If you get married, you get an extra week

or seven days for your honeymoon.

- In addition to your five weeks.

- You're paid to take your honeymoon?

Also if you move.

You mean if you move

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