TV Plots Examine Plight Of Uninsured

NBC’s “Passions” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” and Lifetime’s “Strong Medicine” are among the television shows that have incorporated story lines about the serious problems confronting people without health insurance.

The plot lines were part of “Cover the Uninsured Week,” an initiative by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to draw attention to the 41 million people nationwide who have no health insurance.

It took place March 10 through March 16.

Stuart Schear, campaign head for the foundation, said, “We know a lot of Americans get their information not only from Brokaw and Rather, but also from daytime soap operas and nighttime dramas.”

AARP, the American Medical Association, and the AFL-CIO cosponsored the campaign, which featured more than 500 events such as town-hall meetings and forums about issues related to lack of health insurance coverage.

In related news, the Christian Science Monitor on March 4 reported that many employers were increasing health insurance premiums so much that workers could not afford them, and an increasing number of small and medium-sized companies were dropping health insurance altogether.

In the next year, more than 2 million people will lose the health insurance coverage they now have, according to the Monitor. ▪