USA: life as a lottery | M6 | 66 minutes

It’s a mind-boggling sight worthy of a country at war: in a packed gymnasium dozens of dentist’s chairs are lined up with volunteers working a production line. In the USA there is no social security, only costly private insurance. As a result, millions of low-income Americans have to rely on humanitarian organisations for their health care. There are even health lotteries, where private hospitals offer free health care by drawing lots. For some, drawing the lucky number becomes a question of life or death. As Barack Obama fights to introduce health cover modelled on European systems, we report on those Americans who are forced to gamble their health at Russian roulette.