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As part of his new documentary about the U.S. Healthcare industry, “Sicko”, Michael Moore took a bunch of ill 9/11 rescue workers to Cuba for some stunt. Unfortunately, there’s a trade embargo on and travel to Cuba is pretty much frowned upon. Do you think the U.S. government is gonna let their biggest fan go with a warning, click their pen off and amble back to their patrol car? Uh, no.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control notified Moore in a letter dated May 2 that it was conducting a civil investigation for possible violations of the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba. A copy of the letter was obtained Wednesday by the AP.
“This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba,” Dale Thompson, OFAC chief of general investigations and field operations, wrote in the letter to Moore.
In March, Moore took about 10 ailing workers from the Ground Zero rescue effort in Manhattan for treatment in Cuba, said a person working with the filmmaker on the release of “Sicko.” The person requested anonymity because Moore’s attorneys had not yet determined how to respond.
One of the producers of “Sicko” was quoted as saying that she thinks this is an attempt by the U.S. Government to undermine the film. And Moore himself has said that he has placed a copy of the film in a “safehouse” outside the country so that the government can’t get their hands on it. I LOVE a conspiracy theory. By the way, there is no talk yet of what the penalty would be for that if Moore were prosecuted. I’m guessing if George W.’s still in office it would be that thing from “The Hitcher” where Jennifer Jason Leigh is tied between the trucks. I’m just saying, I don’t think the White House are big fans.
genevieve83 | May 10, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I’ve never been a big fan of MM or conspiracy theorists, but I’m thrilled to see someone bringing some attention to the issue of healthcare in this country. I just spent several days with a seriously ill family member in a county hospital where nurses have as many as 14 patients apiece, and none of them are insured.
And because they aren’t insured, they are treated as sub-human beings. My family member, who is a decent and good person in every sense of the word, was barely cared for because he couldn’t afford health insurance and big luxury state of the art hospital across the street. The whole thing just made me sick. It wasn’t the nurses faults, it wasn’t the doctors faults. It’s the system’s fault.
Right on, Moore. Do your big fat belly man dance and call some attention to healthcare in the US. And for all of you who don’t carry health insurance, just pray you never end up in an accident and in the hospital. Because you can count on being ignored, overlooked, writhing in pain until a nurse can get to you, and not being bathed or cleaned unless a family member does it. Sad, but true. One of the principles of healing is cleanliness. When a hospital can’t even deliver something as simple as a bath, you can forget about getting well.
(Sorry for the rant. No offense meant towards health care workers. It’s our idiot government we should be pointing fingers at.)
jil | May 10, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I’m sure MM is thrilled by this.
sara | May 10, 2007 at 7:56 pm
You are right, it is the government’s fault in a way because they instituted the whole HMO mess (back in the 70′s, I believe) to fix the health care situation. Whether it is commercial insurance, Medicaid, or the socialized medicine of Europe and Canada, a third-party payer system is ineffective. HSA and patient-driven plans are the only thing that can bring us out of this mess. Government provided (i.e. taxpayer) health care does not create incentives for people to be healthy, nor does it encourage medical providers to be efficient and effective. All it does is provide a lot of red tape. Socialized medicine is great if you have a minor illness, but heaven forbid you are 85-years-old and are in critical condition, because the situation won’t be rosy. Just a perspective from someone who works in medical claims management.
CK | May 10, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I don’t know where any of you are coming from. The gubmint didn’t institute HMO’s. We can blame corporate america and the insurance carriers for brainwashing the publick that going to the dr. and paying nothing more than a little co-pay was ok. That got all the clueless sheeple in the country werkin fer the man to think that healthcare was paid fer by someone else and that goin to the dr. was ok no matter what the bill was ’cause da man’s gone pay da bill. Well, unfortunately, life doesn’t work like that. And there is no free lunch. If you want something to work worse and cost more, put the gubmint in charge of it. If you think healthcare would be better with a monopolistic entity making the rules and the gubmint at the controls, you are really naive. Start paying attention to real life cases in Canada and other countries where nationalized healthcare’s been around for some time. It ain’t pretty. Sara is right in that consumer driven (think HSA’s or health savings account) health plans are the real answer. Insurance is not to pay your bills. Insurance is to protect your assets from catastrophic events. HSA type coverage is what insurance is supposed to be, covering you for medical expenses over and above a reasonable amount. You are responsible for budgeting (and the IRS is gonna give you the ability to tax deduct thousands of dollars/yr into a tax free interest bearing account to pay for it) and funding miscellaneous medical, vision and dental care expenses like a prudent adult should. If your expenses go over a certain dollar amount each year, the insurance coverage is there to take your nest egg off the hook and pay up to catastrophic levels, ie millions of dollars in benefits.
What about national healthcare instead? There is national healthcare in this country and it’s really no worse than any other country’s national healthcare. If you are so fucked up that you are indigent, the gubmint will pay for your medical care. You get what you pay for. If you want quality care, you pay something for it instead of thinking you are entitled to it…. which is exactly what we are talking about here…. another gubmint entitlement. Name something that the gubmint is in charge of that’s done better than the private sector…… crickets. If you think that there is not medical insurance in places like the UK, you are dead wrong. Gubmint healthcare sucks there too and those with money buy private healthcare out of their pockets to help fund it. Idiots like Michael Moore criticize American facets of life that they don’t understand because like a typical fucking liberal they won’t take the time to educate themselves on the facts behind what they’re bitching about. If someone calls them on the carpet for it, then they lose their cool and start the profanity and childish name calling because they can’t debate like adults with facts to back up their rantings. Everything in life has it’s problems, people like Michael Moore just exploit things to enrich themselves instead of helping to resolve problematic issues. Just look at how stupid his latest stunt is… let’s go to a communist regime to supposedly help people with healthcare issues out. Why the fuck do you think people are dying every day to get out from under communist rule?
Bunny | May 10, 2007 at 9:43 pm
What kills me is that we can travel freely to China which is a big giant monster ready to swallow the free world whole! but not to broke down ass Cuba! Fidel is a dictator but he pales in comparison to China!
ousslander | May 11, 2007 at 8:25 am
MM is paranoid and delusional,. He’s also a hypocrite. If he’s all for the working American why doesn’t he pay the workers on his huge luxury apartment in manhattan.
You want better health insurance, get a better job and pay for it yourself. Everybody wants a free hand out. take responsibility for yourself and your spawn
Stone3676 | May 11, 2007 at 9:03 am
Not to mention that the Cuban Health care system is a farce!! If its so great why did Castro have to bring in supplies and Doctors from other country’s when is old crazy ass was dying. I’ll tell you why, cause only people with cash get the good health coverage. MM is a communist fat pig, and he should burn in HELL. I hate all these fake ass people who go the Cuba..
Stone3676 | May 11, 2007 at 9:03 am
Not to mention that the Cuban Health care system is a farce!! If its so great why did Castro have to bring in supplies and Doctors from other country’s when is old crazy ass was dying. I’ll tell you why, cause only people with cash get the good health coverage. MM is a communist fat pig, and he should burn in HELL. I hate all these fake ass people who go the Cuba..
LoRider | May 11, 2007 at 10:06 am
MM probably clued the bureaucraps in on his trip to get the investigation started to give his latest piece of crap movie some pub. All his mockumentaries are rife with inaccuracy, innuendos, and outright lies. He actually deluded himself into believing he tipped the scales (no pun intended) to John Kerry in 2004 with his “brave” expose of W. In the end, he was just another fat slob with bad hygiene hatin on people who get out and work for a living. He doesn’t care about the subjects in his mockumentaries, he’s just looking to get paid. He is nothing more than a fat piece of shi+. Ride Lo
sara | May 11, 2007 at 10:36 am
When I wrote of the government’s involvement with HMOs, I was referring to the HMO Act of 1973.
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Michael Moore loves drama more than he wants to solve problems. Why people like Moore, Speilberg, and Stone think Cuba is so great, is beyond me. It is not a communist utopia. I think Andy Garcia got it right with “The Lost City.” If it were such a great country, people wouldn’t risk their lives to leave.