Did you see the movie "Sicko"? Anyone working in an HMO wanna spill some tales? All ears!?

If you work in an HMO or know any horror stories, send it this way. Maybe it's a new issue Michael Moore can look into?

Socialized or Singler payer systems are nothing more than a large government HMO. The only way to control costs is through managing access. This management of access is accomplished by delaying medically necessary services. Please see my review of the movie SICKO below:

Thank You Michael Moore

While Michael Moore does do one thing well with his recent box office release of SICKO - he brings attention to the American healthcare system.

However, he simply falls down with regards to how well the system works for the majority of Americans.

He also fails to mention the other side of socialized "single payer" medicine; in 2006 Britain's Department of Health reported that at any given time, nearly 900,000 Britons are waiting for admission to National Health Service hospitals, and shortages force the cancellation of more than 50,000 operations each year.

In Sweden, the wait for heart surgery can be as long as 25 weeks, and the average wait for hip replacement surgery is more than a year.

Canada is not immune to the issues either - in a March 2006 interview with Dr Brian Day, President of the Canadian Medical Association, he states "the Supreme Court stated that Canadians are suffering and dying on wait lists and that governments across the country have shown inertia in dealing with the plight of patients...... ....and they struck down the segments of the Quebec health law that outlawed private insurance for medically necessary services" so even Canada is looking toward private insurance as a solution to their issues.

There is a real problem with the uninsured in America, and as a Health Insurance Broker, I discuss with my clients how they as employers, myself as a broker and the health insurance carriers have a responsibility to get these people insured through innovative group and individual products.

We have a large pool of healthy Americans who are not insured, we need them to step up and become part of the solution.

In addition, we Americans need to take responsibility for our own health. A significant portion of medical claims are directly related to the American lifestyle (we as Americans have the resources to become fat and lazy). I feel that through employer sponsored wellness, consumerism and disease management programs we can continue down the road of a "healthy America". Result: a reduction of the large claims that have our healthcare spending spiraling out of control.

Bottom line; Thank you Michael Moore for focusing Americans attention on a real problem - HealthCare, maybe your next film should be on the "American Lifestyle Crisis" - perhaps called "Glutton for Punishment".

Rick Knox - Vice President of Knox Associates, LLC - a Las Vegas based employee benefits brokerage.

Any healthcare worker, even an insurance worker, who shares specific information about patients is in violation of HIPAA. This carries some pretty heavy penalties.