Insurers fire back at Moore's 'Sicko'

WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Insurance companies Wednesday criticized filmmaker Michael Moore's new documentary, "Sicko," a scathing critique of the U.S. healthcare system.

"We need a uniquely American solution in which the public and private sectors work together to make sure that everyone has high-quality, affordable healthcare," said Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive officer of America's Health Insurance Plans, the largest trade group representing the health insurance industry.

In the film, controversial director Moore, among other things, takes rescue workers sickened after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to Cuba for treatment to draw attention to the plight of the uninsured.

At a rally in California this week, Moore called for a Canadian-style system of universal healthcare where the government provides insurance, but services are privately provided.

But insurers said the U.S. and state governments should create a better plan for universal coverage that avoids the pitfalls of the Canadian system.

"Washington and the states should take immediate action to ensure that every American has healthcare coverage," Ignagni said. But "the American people do not support a government takeover of the entire healthcare system because they know that means long waits for rationed care."