Provide complete answers to the following 21 questions (2 points each for the first 20 questions, 10 points for #21. Each answer must be based upon the documentary film Sicko by Michael Moore (2007). Question Sets must be type-written, single-spaced, with 12-point font, and numbered 1 – 21, including (a), (b), and (c). You do not need to recopy the questions. Take-Home Question Sets are due Fridday, April 28 when class begins. You can hand me a paper copy or send your Question Set to my email as an attachment, but if I do not receive it (even if you sent it), cannot open or print it, for any reason, in real time, it receives the late penalty: 10 points each 1 week it is late (plus the grade), no exceptions. Once I print it, I will let you know I have it. Question Sets are worth 50 points for correct answers to all 21 questions.
Moore put his film in the public domain a few years ago, so it is legal to watch it wherever you can find it, without paying for it. One place a free viewing of the film is available is at freedocumentaries.org or vimeo.com
1. Rick must choose between two fingers which to re-attach since he cannot afford both. (a) What is the price to re-attach each finger? (b) Could Rick have shopped around and gone to another hospital to find an affordable hospital? Explain.
2. (a) Describe what happened to Laura Burnham. (b) Why is this unethical? Explain.
3. When Moore puts on the screen the long list of pre-existing conditions which will make you ineligible for healthcare coverage, what are the first two “B” conditions listed not covered by medical insurance?
4. (a) What insurance company did Maria Watanabe have? (b) What was the excuse used to deny her an MRI? (c) How could (hypothetically) insurance companies pressure doctors to not refer patients to have MRIs? Explain how that might work.
5. (a) What did the trial scene of Glen Hollinger, M.D. show us about the medical insurance industry? Explain. (b) How do Hollinger’s actions make money for medical insurance companies? (c) What is unethical about that practice?
6. (a) In the case of Humana’s medical reviewers, what was the minimum percent of cases
each reviewer had to deny? (b) How do denials increase profits? Explain. (c) Why is it unethical to have a minimum denial rate for medical reviewers?
7. Julie and Tracy Pierce were insured with a hospital in Kansas City. Their insurance denied any new drugs Tracy’s doctors wanted to try on his kidney cancer. (a) Name one of these drugs. Tracy insurance company claimed bone marrow transplants are “experimental” so will not be paid for. (b) Give an argument that the procedure is not experimental and so should be paid for.
8. According to Moore, the U.S. ranks ____ in the world in healthcare.
9. How much did Bill McGuire, United Health CEO, make in one year?
10. (a) HCA paid $____ to settle a lawsuit alleging it made thousands of false claims to Medicare. (b) Give an example (real or fictitious) of how a scam of Medicare might work.
11. Brad, a Canadian, has universal healthcare because he is Canadian. (a) Brad had to pay $___ to have ____ fingers reattached after his accident. (b) If Brad were American, what would the operation have cost Brad? (Calculate this based on Rick’s surgery from the beginning of the film.)
12. Why does Larry Godfrey think all Canadians should have to pay more in taxes to provide universal, free healthcare for all Canadians?
13. In England: (a) If your doctor prescribes 10 or 100 pills or more, the price is $____ (in U.S. dollars). (b) All prescribed drugs are free for those over ___ or under ____ , or those who are _____. (c) Maternity leave in England gives all new mothers ____ months off work with pay. (d) In the U.S. nearly all new mothers get ___ months off work with pay.
14. (a) What 5 industries does Moore list as having already been socialized in the U.S.? (b) What does Moore mean by calling these American companies “socialized”?
15. The English doctor Moore interviews is paid by the British government. What is his government-paid salary (in U.S. dollars)?
16. (a) Alexi Cremieux was born in France, but lived and worked in the U.S. from the ages of ___ to ___ without medical insurance. After learning he had a tumor, he had to return to France for free treatment. (b) How many months off with pay did he receive after his procedures?
17. (a) How much does it cost in France to have 2 children in daycare per hour? (b) How much does college cost French citizens?
18. What happened to John Graham? Should he receive free healthcare (care paid by the U.S. government through tax dollars) for his problems? Explain.
19. What is the cost of one of the inhalers in the U.S. versus in Cuba?
20. Find a breakdown (no earlier than 2013) which reveals what percentage (out of 100%) the U.S. federal government spends annually (tax dollars) for (a) military, (b) education, and (c) healthcare (Medicare). Provide your website source.
21. Should the U.S. adopt a free healthcare system such as the ones used in Canada, England, and France? Assume there would be both a free public option to see a doctor or go to a hospital (and all medicine would be cheap), and there would also be private doctors and hospitals for those Americans who wished to pay for them out of pocket (just as we have set up K-12 education: there is the free public option and the private option for those who wish to pay). In one paragraph using a rights approach, argue whether or not this system would be ethically just. In another paragraph, using a utilitarian/consequences approach, argue whether or not this system would be just or not. (Assume throughout that the money to pay for free public healthcare would come from slightly increased taxes on all individuals and all businesses, and from a significant decrease in the overall U.S. military budget you cited in question #20). Note: The U.S. already provides free healthcare to our seniors (those over 65) through Medicare. The proposal here would extend the Medicare option to all Americans who wanted it.
