Michael Moore. Depending on your political affiliation, the mention of that name filled you with rage, or brought a smile to your face.

But whatever your feelings are about Moore, you are hopefully aware that the documentary filmmaker who shook things up with past works such as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 is taking on the health care industry with his documentary, SiCKO. Watching this movie reinforced my beliefs that the conventional health care system in this country is broken, that the health insurance industry is corrupt, and that chiropractors should join forces to correct insurance company reimbursement wrongdoing against the chiropractic profession.

As he has done in past films, Moore uses outrageous methods to get his point across, such as his stunt of taking ailing September 11 Ground Zero rescue workers to Cuba for free medical assistance. The movie opens with a man using a needle and thread to sew a gaping wound in his own leg because he can't afford to see a doctor. Another scene shows a man who lost parts of two fingers in an accident and must choose between paying $12,000 to reattach his ring finger and $60,000 to reattach his middle finger because he can't afford to do both.

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In another scene, a woman who was taken to the hospital unconscious in an ambulance complains that she received notification that the insurance company denied payment because the ambulance ride wasn't preapproved.

But the main theme of the film is that countries such as France, Mexico, and Cuba offer free health care, while health care is unattainable to many Americans. Another theme is how politicians from both major parties accept contributions from pharmaceutical companies to encourage legislation favorable to pharmaceutical company interests. But the portion of the movie that focused on insurance providers got most of my attention.

Moore interviews former insurance company employees whose job was to deny coverage to policyholders by deeming a medical procedure "unnecessary" or "experimental," by finding flaws in an application for coverage, or by figuring out a way to determine a pre-existing condition.

Watching that portion of the film made me think of the chiropractors' constant struggles in receiving reimbursement from insurance companies. On the product side, for example, some insurance companies consider spinal decompression therapy to be experimental and unproven.

Other than switching your practice to cash-only, what can you do to help improve the way chiropractors are reimbursed for their services? Get involved. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is urging DCs to provide documentation on discriminatory practices of chiropractic networks. For information, go to www.acatoday.org/content.cfm?CID=2342. The ACA had originally set a June deadline to send this information, but the ACA's director of public and media relations Angela Kargus told me the ACA continues to accept information from DCs as it becomes available.

In his own unorthodox way, Moore shines a spotlight on the "sickening" US health care system. By becoming a chiropractor, you have contributed greatly toward improving people's health and making the public aware of alternatives to conventional medicine. You can contribute even more by getting more involved with your state and national associations, participating in the ACA's data collection efforts, and increasing public relations efforts in your community to help people improve their health naturally.

Daryl Lubinsky