Filmmaker Michael Moore might be on to something in his new documentary, "Sicko." These days, fewer Americans accept that the United States has the best medical system in the world. 

With polls showing that health care is Americans' top domestic concern, politicians are scrambling to propose reforms. Consumers are buying lower-cost drugs online from foreign sources, and some even become "medical tourists" to obtain treatment in other countries 
Studies show Americans aren't healthier, nor are they living longer than people in industrialized nations that spend half per capita of what we do on care. 

For example, a 2007 report by the New York-based Commonwealth Fund, which studies health care issues, compared the United States with five other nations - Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The U.S. health system ranked last. 

A 2000 report by the World Health Organization, the most recent available from the UN organization, put the United States 37th out of 190 nations in health care services. France was rated No. 1, the United Kingdom in the 18th spot, Canada at No. 30 and Cuba in the 39th spot.

In a New York Times-CBS poll conducted in March, health care ranked as the top domestic concern. In "Sicko," Moore highlights Americans' disillusionment with their health care system, comparing it with systems in other countries, including France, Canada, Britain and Cuba.

"We ... have 46 million people who are uninsured, and that raises a whole host of health and financial issues," said Ken Thorpe, professor of health policy at Emory University in Atlanta. "Ours is really is a sick-care system."

He argues that it is far more cost-effective to prevent people from getting sick or at least catch illnesses early through better monitoring.

Moore's film has been criticized for showing the positive side of health systems in other countries while glossing over negative aspects.

"There's almost only positive attributes about the British, the French and Cuban system. Invariably, no system is perfect. I think this sort of detracts from his credibility on these comparisons," said Stephen Zuckerman, health economist with the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

"He's trying to be entertaining. But if the objective here is to kick off a serious study about the British and Cuba as an alternative to the U.S. system, you need a lot more than what was presented in 'Sicko,'" Zuckerman said.