Cuba’s Health Care System Is Nowhere Near the U.S.’s (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen)

Editor’s Note: Rep. Ros-Lehtinen said the following in response to Michael Moore’s latest film project, entitled “Sicko,” in which he argues that Cuba’s health care system is superior to that of the United States.

It is completely incorrect to even insinuate that the health care system of the Castro brothers is superior to that of the U.S.

My congressional district has a large Cuban exile population, and I often hear firsthand accounts of the disastrous level of care provided by a Cuban regime which denies its own people, particularly human rights dissidents and any voices of internal opposition in Cuba, access to even the most basic medicines and treatment.

Furthermore, it is well-known that Castro’s Cuba has two health care systems – one for tourists, as well as Communist Party officials, and another for Cubans, who are denied even aspirins.

While healthcare is viewed by most of the world as a basic, compassionate human service, there is nothing compassionate about Castro’s healthcare which oppresses and intimidates, rather than improves lives and alleviates suffering.