Affordable Me: Obamacare on the Ground & on the Air

Hollywood, Health & Society held an invitation-only panel titled Affordable Me: The Face of Obamacare on the Ground & On the Air on July 22 at the Writers Guild of America, West, featuring TV writers/producers, health experts and community storytellers. 

Panelists included Dr. Zoanne Clack, executive producer, Grey’s Anatomy; Dr. Zachary Lutsky, writer, The Night Shift; Meg Marinis, story editor, Grey’s Anatomy; Hayley Schore, writer/director of development, Black Box; and Patrick Sean Smith (pictured), show runner and executive producer, Chasing Life.

“Twenty million people have enrolled in Obamacare—a great story,” said Martin Kaplan, director of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, in his introductory remarks to the panel members and audience. The Congressional Budget Office is expecting enrollment in private health insurance plans under the ACA to increase by 13 million in 2015.

A beginning Q&A with the TV writers, moderated by Kaplan, was followed by small break-out groups anchored by Smith, Schore, Marinis, Clack and Lutsky. In these sessions, focusing on mental health, youth, immigrant families and ER care, the health experts/activists organized presentations from “community storytellers” who offered their real-life experiences.