NBC’s Robert Bazell on Sicko’s use of the bone-marrow/kidney cancer case:
Almost any insurance plan would have turned down the request for an experimental treatment, with no proven value, costing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is critical to note that the national health plans in Canada, Great Britain, France and Cuba that are featured in “Sicko” would also have turned down such treatment. No matter where he was getting his care, Tracy Pierce almost certainly would have died at a young age.
Even in the wealthiest countries, health resources are limited. Everyone cannot get every treatment they believe might help them.