Last year I watched SICKO -Michael Moore´s documentary on the US healthcare system-, and a shocking part of the movie is when he takes a group of 9-11 american firefighters to Havana where they get impressive healthcare services. He didn´t mention in the documentary that, as in most emerging countries (sadly) these services are available only for people who will pay lots of money to get them. Some extracts of the wikileaked cable on that topic (Cuban healthcare system) says:
When the FSHP showed Sicko to a group XXXXXXXXXXXX, some became so
disturbed at the blatant misrepresentation of healthcare in Cuba that they left the room.
Built in 1982, this newly renovated 600 bed, 24 story hospital is depicted in Michael Moore’s film «Sicko,» where some 60 surgeries are performed daily including heart, kidney, and cornea transplants, mostly to patients who receive free treatment as part of Operation Milagro (mostly from Venezuela, but also from the rest of Latin America). The two top floors (shown in the movie) are the most modern and are reserved for medical tourists and foreign diplomats who pay in hard currency.
If you still believe in fairy tales about healthcare services in Cuba, you may want to read the whole cable on that topic here .
Some first hand information is always welcome when it comes to myths about countries for which we may hardly have the opportunity to know in depth how they really work.
Karla Segovia - blog personal 