by Chris Davison, davison@intellcap.com
When Jeffrey Katzenberg himself headlines an event, you know something big is about to happen and sure enough, there he was humorously elbowing HRTS President Chris Silbermann off the stage during a special event luncheon at the Beverly Hilton. The luncheon was presented by the HRTS in coordination with Divided We Fail (AARP), the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), with the goal of using entertainment to draw attention to America’s healthcare crisis.
 
A healthy turnout listened as MPTF Foundation Chairman Katzenberg gently ushered Silbermann away from the podium, drawing a big laugh by confirming that “I don’t have a lot of patience”. Quickly putting things in perspective, the movie mogul pointed out that as compared to the healthcare business model, the movie business model looks like a sure thing, and that is scary! To demonstrate the power that we in the entertainment industry possess, Katzenberg ran a PSA featuring Morgan Freeman, Garth Brooks, Dakota Fanning, Jeremy Piven, Eva Mendes, Ben Affleck, Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix with the uplifting message that together we can do anything but divided, we fail.

Katzenberg next introduced a multiple Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress, none other than Sally Field. Field began by reminding the room that healthcare affects everyone since at some point, every single person will get sick and need help. Diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2006, Field now travels around the country educating women about the disease. She also pointed out that 47 million Americans are uninsured and 17 million more are underinsured; with a grand total of 64 million people having inadequate coverage, it directly affects more than 1 in every 5 people in this country.

Returning to the stage to demonstrate how creative folks might use television to shine a light on the healthcare issue, Chris Silbermann cued up a short clip from “The Office”, wherein Steve Carell’s character is shocked to learn that his healthcare plan doesn’t cover certain procedures. Silbermann next introduced discussion panel moderator Leeza Gibbons, who in turn introduced the superstar panel: Nancy LeaMond (AARP, Divided We Fail), Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs”, “Spin City”), Dr. Neal Baer (“Law and Order: SVU”, “ER”), D.L. Hughley (“The Hughleys”, “Def Comedy Jam”), and John Wells (“ER”, “The West Wing”).

Beginning the discussion by focusing on 2008 as an election year, Gibbons asked about the presidential candidates’ plans for healthcare, with LeaMond responding that while all of the candidates have publicly announced their commitment to make some changes, none of them have said how they’ll pay for it.

An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure, Baer quickly demonstrated the power of the entertainment industry to effect positive change: in 1998, Baer did a study about an episode of “ER” that focused on Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The study found that before the episode aired, 9% of people in a random sample knew that HPV causes cervical cancer and that after the episode aired, 30% of people in a random sample knew that HPV causes cervical cancer.

In terms of finance and economics, John Wells pointed out that America spends 20% of our GDP on defense and 16% on healthcare, whereas every other industrialized democracy only spends between 6-8% on healthcare. Wells attributed this difference to the fact that we have a for-profit healthcare system, one that doesn’t focus enough on cost-saving preventative measures. 

Another major factor is apathy, with Bill Lawrence saying that change must be motivated, that in a country where less than half the population votes it is crucial that those with a national platform use it to spread the word about healing our healthcare system.  Lawrence also related how he was shocked to be on set during the past week and discover that his show’s 2nd AD has contracted Lyme Disease but doesn’t have health insurance, going on to exhort the room to “take care of our own”.

Hughley related some personal experiences from growing up in a poor neighborhood, such as how a number of his friends and family have contracted cancer but didn’t have the proper resources to deal with it. He also offered the statistic that Black men are 60% more likely to die from prostate cancer, in large part due to a lack of adequate healthcare.  Showing that laughter is sometimes the best medicine, Hughley drew a big laugh when he related that he recently went in for a physical and his doctor threw in a prostate exam “as an added bonus”.

Gibbons brought up the “graying of America” and the resultant costly, chronic diseases associated with aging. LeaMond said that since Baby Boomers are approaching their senior years, changes must be made now, before things accelerate downhill. She also said that the issue is in the public consciousness, that whereas a year ago everything was all about Iraq, today people are talking about the economy and healthcare, two interconnected issues.