| As we excitedly wait for film maker Michael Moore's | | | | similar acts of Mother Nature. |
| new masterpiece,"Sicko," I decided to do some | | | | When it was time to go back to Cuba, the team of |
| research on Cuba's healthcare system. | | | | doctors saw a need for posting doctors in several of |
| "Sicko" spotlights the negligent U.S. healthcare system. | | | | these countries in order to train local people in |
| In a brilliant example of contrast, Moore takes 911 | | | | medicine. |
| fire fighters and rescue workers with life threatening | | | | Thus the Havana-based Latin American School of |
| lung problems their health insurance policies refused | | | | Medicine or ELAM, was born, offering $10,000 |
| to cover, first to the U.S. Post Guantanamo Bay in | | | | scholarships for free medical training. |
| Cuba, where care was refused; then to Havana, | | | | The Program has grown to 22,000 students from |
| where the doctors there happily treated them. | | | | Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the |
| 50,000 people are without healthcare insurance in the | | | | United States. The students attend ELAM and 28 |
| United States. Many of those who are insured are | | | | other medical schools across Cuba. The students |
| under insured. The job of the insurance companies is | | | | represent all ethnic groups, 51% are women, and |
| to deny claims and services to their clients, whether | | | | they come from 30 countries. |
| they admit it, or not. | | | | A young person from inner city Bronx who chooses |
| According to Health Care Now, the U.S. ranked 58 in | | | | to take part in this program, forinstance, must |
| the provision of healthcare worldwide. More than | | | | promise to take her expertise back to the |
| 50% of American bankruptcies are the result of | | | | neighborhood she came from. |
| inability to pay for medical emergencies. | | | | 350,000 people now work in the healthcare field in |
| The United States has aggressively attempted and | | | | Cuba, serving a population of 11 million people. |
| consistently failed to destroy the communist | | | | Everyone has access to doctors, nurses, specialists |
| government of Fidel Castro, most recently through | | | | and medicines. A doctor and nurse team oversees |
| an ongoing blockade of goods and services into that | | | | every neighborhood. |
| country. | | | | House calls are routine. The wisdom of treating a |
| Due to the pressure the U.S. has exerted on other | | | | patient holistically, knowing a patient's family and her |
| countries to stop their trade with Cuba, Cuba has | | | | environment, is crucial to successful treatment. |
| been forced to request higher prices for goods and | | | | Doctors and nurses in Cuba are trained in |
| services, including medicine. In one year, Cuba had to | | | | acupuncture, herbal treatments, massage and other |
| pay an extra 45 million dollars for pharmaceuticals, | | | | natural health modalities, as well, something lacking in |
| which is 80% to 140% more than other buyers of | | | | American healthcare. |
| medicine, according to Medi-Cuba, the Cuban firm | | | | The exportation of Cuban healthcare is a Peace |
| that imports medicine and human technology. | | | | Project that we all can learn from. |
| Nevertheless, Cuba continues to offer free and | | | | Before Cuba sent doctors to Pakistan, relations |
| comprehensive healthcare to all her citizens. | | | | between these two countries were not harmonious. |
| In addition, since 1963, Cuba has exported its | | | | But now, the relationship is "magnificent," says Dr |
| exemplary healthcare service around the world, | | | | Ceballos, a Cuban physician. |
| sending doctors and its own technological | | | | The investments in healthcare missions "are |
| advancements in medicine to countries throughout | | | | resources that prevent confrontation with other |
| Latin America and Africa. | | | | nations," Dr Ceballos explains. "The solidarity with |
| Cuba provided much needed medical support after | | | | Cuba has restrained aggressions of all kinds." |
| the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan. Fidel Castro | | | | And in a statement that acknowledges Cuba's |
| offered to lend medical support after the devastation | | | | vulnerabilities on the global stage, Dr. Ceballos |
| following Hurricane Katrina. Medical Personnel were | | | | explains, "It's infinitely better to invest in peace than |
| packed and ready to go. | | | | to invest in war." |
| Unfortunately, the U.S. chose to play politics over the | | | | A SINGLE PAYOR PLAN IN PENNSYLVANIA |
| saving of lives. | | | | "Family and Business Healthcare Security Act of |
| EXPORTING HEALTHCARE | | | | 2007" is a single payor healthcare plan currently being |
| Cuba trains international students at its medical | | | | set forth in the state of Pennsylvania where I live. It |
| schools. After Hurricane George and Mitch plummeted | | | | may prove to be the prototype healthcare plan for |
| Central America and the Caribbean, Cuban Doctors | | | | every state in the union. |
| rushed to the disaster zone, as was their practice for | | | | |