John Hamill

Between 46 and 50 million Americans have no health insurance, and the numbers continue to grow. Last year alone approximately 2.2 million lost their coverage. In just the time it will take to watch this film, 377 more Americans will become uninsured. Most tragically, 22,000 Americans will die this year because they lack health insurance. A bracingly honest documentary, Critical Condition investigates America's worsening health care crisis by following a diverse group of uninsured individuals as they battle critical illnesses without adequate medical care. It is through their eyes and words that we are taken through the gaping holes in the health care system, where care is often delayed or denied. Ultimately, the unforgettable subjects of Critical Condition discover that being uninsured can cost them their jobs, health, homes, savings, and even lives. A few sobering statistics reinforce these disturbing personal stories -- the most compelling, perhaps, are those that illustrate the enormous cost in dollars and human suffering that we pay by denying sick patients access to routine primary care. Through intimate stories that illuminate the emotional, financial, and medical impact of battling illness without insurance, Critical Condition sends a subtle yet deeply foreboding message about the alarming state of the American health care system.

The symptoms: acute tickling of the funny bone and severe belly laughs. The diagnosis? Richard Pryor in Critical Condition. Playing a criminal who fakes insanity to avoid prison, Pryor ends up in a hospital mental ward. That's when the craziness starts as he escapes during a blackout and disguises himself as a doctor. Somehow Pryor brings order to chaos even while performing unorthodox physical examinations, delivering a baby and using a helicopter for air conditioning!

Con man Kevin Lennihan framed in a jewel smuggling tries for an insanity plea and is sent to a hospital for review where he is confused for another doctor and takes over the hospital when a major storm hits.

Con man Kevin Lennihan framed in a jewel smuggling tries for an insanity plea and is sent to a hospital for review where he is confused for another doctor and takes over the hospital when a major storm hits.