Michael Moore’s documentary “Sicko” is up for an Oscar award.
    But the controversial film about problems with U.S. healthcare gets a mixed review from Dr. Barry Straube, a physician who also happens to be the chief medical officer at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 
    CMS runs the government health plans for tens of millions of people, mostly the elderly and low income.
    “I used to work at a health plan (insurance company) and I think that documentary had some gross exaggerations that were off the wall,” Straube told the annual Reuters Regulation Summit, when asked about the film. The doctor emphasized that he was speaking for himself and not the agency.
    But certain aspects of the movie did hit close to home for him.
    Straube, who specialized in nephrology and transplantation, said the documentary was correct in raising concerns about insurance companies looking for ways to remove high risk patients from their health plans.
    “Quite honestly, when I was at a health plan level I think people had processes (regarding high risk patients) that went further than they probably should,” Straube said.

  (Contributed by Ayesha Rascoe)