on comparing the U.S. healthcare system to France’s

Michael Moore has this new Sicko documentary on the U.S. health care system (compared to France). While I haven’t seen this movie yet, I’ve read a column in the Businessweek article that pretty much sides with Moore’s thesis–that the French system is probably better.

What the article doesn’t mention (and I hope Moore’s movie does, but highly doubt it since it would sort of go against his argument) is that on the whole, obesity is not as big a problem in France as it is here in the U.S. So it’s likely that the French socialized healthcare system wouldn’t necessarily be better for Americans, since a lot of U.S. cases are related to being overweight (heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, etc) and are, for the most part, preventable.

Also, most of the countries that have ‘model’ health care systems are countries with a much smaller population such as France, Canada, and the U.K. In general, with a smaller population, things are easier to manage.

Until sales from fast-food chains drop significantly and the government starts regulating the pharmaceutical industry, i can’t see how our healthcare system will improve.