Will Obamacare become plot fodder for CBS’ Hostages and Under The Dome? A $500,000 grant awarded this week to USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center’s Hollywood Health & Society program certainly suggests it’s a possibility. In the latest push to get Tinseltown to promote President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the decade-old program has received the money from the private California Endowment to give Hollywood producers, writers and execs details about the newly launched health insurance initiative. “Our experience has shown that the public gets just as much, if not more, information about current events and important issues from 
their favorite television shows and characters as they do from the news media and online resources,” said Hollywood Health & Society’s Martin Kaplan in a statement today. “This grant will allow us to ensure that industry practitioners have up-to-date, relevant facts on health care reform to integrate into their storylines and projects.” Hostages’ co-EP Jennifer Cecil sits on Hollywood Health & Society’s Advisory Board as does Under The Dome EP Neal Baer. So does Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and Disney Junior’s Doc McStuffins EP Chris Nee among others. The grant comes just over a week after Jennifer Hudson appeared in a pro-Obamacare Scandal parody video produced by Will Ferrell’s Funny Or Die.
The last month has also seen social media advocating from the likes of Nashville’s Connie Britton, Olivia Wilde, Taye Diggs, Kate Bosworth, Lady Gaga and Sarah Silverman. “These are just the opening moves in a multi-pronged campaign using Hollywood as a platform for the ACA,” one insider told me. The formal use of pro-Obama Hollywood in promoting ACA was first revealed at a July 22 meeting at the White House with Amy Poehler, Michael Cera and Hudson among those in attendance along with high-level administration officials.
Related: Michelle Obama Hollywood Fundraiser Scrapped Over Government Shutdown
Recent Comments
With half of the total going toward Spanish-language programming, Hollywood Health & Society says that it will use the cash infusion to educate industry pros and track how often Obamacare shows up in TV dramas. It also will be used to produce pro-ACA PSAs in conjunction with series’ storylines. And the group certainly has the experience, having worked on storylines for Disney’s Doc McStuffins, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, CBS’ NCIS and The Good Wife, NBC’s Law & Order franchise, Fox’s 24 and Bones, AMC’s Mad Men and Breaking Bad, Showtime’s The Big C and Dexter and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire among dozens of shows. Hollywood Health & Society has previously received grants from the CDC, the Gates Foundation and the federal department of Health and Human Services.
I sometimes wonder if the Hollywood elite has any idea of what’s going on in the rest of the country. ACA may be law, but it was in spite of the fact that most Americans did not want it. I thought it had some good points until I found out that it doesn’t help me at all. My premium would be astronomical and I can’t afford it. So now, I’m still without insurance and on top of that I have to pay a fine. I am livid over it. I don’t want to be reminded of it when I watch TV. But Hostages is a bust anyways. Let’s see what happens with UTD.
What state are you from? In California, there are subsidies that will offset the rise in premiums, but I hear tell that some red states are refusing federal subsidies, so lots of folks are screwed. Not Obama’s fault.
That’s great till you run out of other peoples money to pay for it… oh we’ve gone well past that point. Lt me re-phrase “That works great till we run out of debt to borrow against”
Just curious – where do you think subsidies come from? The government is funded with taxpayer dollars. Subsidies come from your fellow American citizens, who pay more so you that you can pay less. Just to make it clear, the government has NO money, subsidies comes from your fellow taxpayers. It would be such a relief to the rest of us if liberals would think things through…
What a crock!!! You must be paid by media matters or some other filthy, lying leftist front organization for this absolute disgrace of a POTUS!
This is NOT about providing healthcare, it is about control. Big government control and if you are too stupid or uninformed (or just an outright liar like the previous poster) to realize that then you are getting exactly what you deserve.
So you’d rather be controlled by greedy private industries that can do whatever they want and charge whatever they want without regulation? Sounds fun. Glad I never had kids.
That’s not quite accurate. It’s not that some “red states” are refusing federal subsidies. It’s that those states (as well as “blue states”) have refused to set up state exchanges, thus requiring anyone in those states to obtain Obamacare through the federal exchange.
As for whether it’s Obama’s fault, recall that not Republican voted for that abomination (“Obamination”) of a law. Furthermore, the Democrats made it mandatory, rather than voluntary. The new law is driving doctors and caregivers out, driving prices up, and driving quality down. Obama signed the law, so he (and the Dems) owns it.
It IS Obama’s fault, whether or not some folks want to admit it.
In California, EVERYTHING is free.
No it’s not. You are selling your children and grandchildren into bondage for every “free” thing you sign up for.
Boom!
Free to everyone, except the TAXPAYERS.
Yep, in California EVERYTHING is free!…..except the people
Who is paying for the subsidies?
We are!
PS – anyone with have a brain will make it their business to contact the advertisers of any show shilling this Obamacare BS and DESTROY THAT SHOW before they continue trying to destroy America.
Fantastic idea! I’m in.
Who do you think is paying for the “subsidies”?
But it also depends on where you live in Cal. In the Bay area, insurance prices are about $100/month more expensive than they are in Sacramento or So.Cal. Remember, if you voted for His Highness … you don’t get to bitch about the results!
“Subsidies” .. subsidies from whom?!
And who is paying for the subsidies?????
What do you mean “it’s not Obama’s fault?!!!” Of course, it is his fault. His and the Dems and RINOs who pushed it through. He was the instigator and author of it. It is ALL of his fault. What are you talking about? You’re one “of those” that only wants to deflect his real failures and constitutional atrocities to others and attribute all that’s good in the universe to him.
Quit being ridiculous.
There were no RINO’s involved in the passage of the ACA. The Democrats own it completely. Not a single Republican voted for it.
In fact, the only thing bi-partisan about the ACA is that both Democrats and Republicans voted against it. It is Obama/Reid/Pelosi’s baby.
Amazingly enough, not even RINOs voted for this crap sandwich
I live in California… I can’t afford the new insurance and the deductibles are out of sight. The irony is that I have to pay for something that is almost worthless due to the deductible, I have to have it or I am fined and my hours were cut because of it. I didn’t vote for Obama either time and I am getting screwed by the idiots who thought they would get freebies… I can’t afford it nor the penalty so I will not have insurance and just wait for them to arrest me for not paying the penalty. If I did go to jail, I would get excellent health care and for free too..
No, of course it’s not Obama’s fault. Nothing is Obama’s fault, right?
Where in California do YOU live? Our premiums have gone up over 30% in the last 3 years. We’ve had to change insurance companies 3 times and settle for less coverage just to afford the premiums. You are living under a rock somewhere dude.
2 questions genius: 1. So the fact that every person that I know and every single news report that actually talks about this all say that premiums have gone up 300% or more are lying? and 2. even if there were subsidies, where in the hell do you think that magic money comes from?
So, you say there are subsidies for the ACA premiums in California?
Where is that money coming from?
If the thing needs to subsidized, then it does not to be, and especially NOT FORCED on the American People…
Well I am from CT, which is very very blue. And my monthly is going up $623 a month and yes there are no subsidies, federal or otherwise.
First, not everyone qualifies for subsidies, so that’s not guaranteed.
Second, the subsidies to the states were in exchange for setting up their own exchange. Kind of like the subsidies for increasing unemployment payments in exchange for Federal subsidies. States that did so now find that the subsidies have ended and they have to foot the higher payouts on their own.
There’s no free lunch, even in California.
California is doomed. The rest of the states should just seal their borders to the forthcoming California doom. It is becoming a large scale DETROIT!
What people don’t understand is that the poor with chronic health conditions already have some sort of health care in place. My cousin who is in her late 20’s currently has no insurance – no one would insure her for her chronic condition that she was born with. As it stands she gets her very expensive medicine (it costs over a thousand dollars a month) free from drug companies through programs like connection to care ( remember Montell Williams was shilling for these years back). The cheaper medicine she buys off the $4.00 list from Wal Mart. She uses the free clinic in my town and has a regular doctor there. Her doctor visits are $15.00, her X-Rays are $35.00 each and blood workup is $20.00 per test. I was talking to her last week and she’s upset over all this – she’s afraid she will loose the health care and the medicine she has now and be forced to come up with a pricey health insurance policy she just can’t afford. The worst case scenario is that she won’t be able to afford to go to the doctor or to buy her medicine because she will have to buy a $300.00 insurance policy with a $1000 deductible and will loose her free medicine. After she pays for that she won’t have the money left over to pay for her medicine which she needs to stay alive. I also have an elderly aunt who is getting her medicare nursing home money cut to make way for Obamacare – and there is no way she can make up the difference. I think there are more people in these situations than they are taking into account and when they experience the double whammy of loosing the health care they already have in place and are forced to buy an insurance policy they can’t afford it will get ugly. They have a lot more problems than just a poorly run website and all they wanted was a political victory – they had no concern over people who actually do
have health problems. We’ll see what happens – all you can do at this point is hope for the best. But the reality is most people have some sort of health care and they’re upsetting the apple cart.
Tell Hollywood, I will boycott there crap if I see any BS about Obamacare.
I, too, will boycott any tv show that mentions obamacare.
Not only is Hollywood and the big networks shoveling completely stupid TV programs and movies, now they have stripped down to bald-faced shame and started pushing government propaganda down the throats of the millions of low-information voters who will watch any garbage they put in front of them. Idiocracy is here. Yay.
I already do boycott Hollywood TV.
I already boycott ALL TV. Go outside and do something with your life.
Then why are you on a website dedicated to hollywood tv shows?
you can fight and debate all you want it not going to change anything you need to pray you. talk, talk, talk you all are wasting your time please believe me you need to pray, pray, pray.
I will stop watching any show that attempts to promote ACA. And if I remember any commercial I will boycott that product as well.
When any show goes political I stop watching it. If even the mention of ObamaCare (or the more sneaky “single payor system”) comes up in any fall show I’m watching I not only stop watching it I usually find out who’s advertising it and write them a friendly little note.
I stopped watching tv and movies when the actors began to tell me how to live my life during gun control. Screw Hollywood. They have little to no imagination anyway. Its been nothing but remakes of old movies lately. I will not spend one cent on anything that oozes out of that town.
It’s not a matter of wheather they know whats going on, it thing is they don’t care anything about Americans outside of Hollywierd, unless we’re spending our hard earned cash on their crappy movies.
Lets boycot them and see if they care abouts us then.
They received a $500,000.00 grant but the Obama administration and Senate were not willing to pay out the same amount for 5 fallen service members? Thanks for the heads up, now I know what to avoid watching, I think the box office will be a great place to make cuts to my budget at home.
Everyone who works in Hollywood who is in a the IATSE (union) or Screen Actors Guild (SAG) or the Directors Guild of America (DGA) all have the benefit of the best medical insurance in the country. The Motion Picture Industry Health and Pension Plan. It covers the whole family and gay couples for everything, eye care, dental care, the whole nine yards.
It be comes your part B coverage when you retire as I am. It is the best, every news caster, actor, cameraman, grip, electrician, hair stylist, make up, wardrobe, truck driver and even the craftservice person get it.
Once you are in the UNION an qualified and work 300 hrs. per 1/4 your set. If you for some reason do not get you 300 hrs. in then you Bank of reserve hours kicks in and your covered until they run out and then you can buy Cobra Insurance at a highly reduced rate, very cheap.
Getting 300 hr. per 1/4 is not hard in an Industry where the min. week is 56+ hours per.
BTW, The health and pension plan was the brain child of Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore Sr. in 1928, 20 years before the industry when union.
Except for a hand full, the Hollywood gang are the biggest hypocrites on the planet earth. I worked in the BIZ for 30 yr. in Special Effects, which was interesting, but I am glad to be done with it
You were for it now you’ve got it. No pity. Cough, cough, pardon me.
If I see too many of these shows advertising ACA I will be turning off the program and go with something that makes sense. I hope that many other viewers will do the same. Hollywood is no place to push any polical agenda.
Whether you agree with it or not, the program exists and it can help people of they actually know about what it entails. I don’t see pointing out the benefits of a law as ‘political agenda’. The more people who use it the lower the premiums will be and better the program will work.
It is propaganda if they only point out the ‘benefits of the law’. It would be intellectually honest if writers show the totality of the law’s impact on society, be it good or bad.
That’s true. For instance, they could have a couple of characters spend the entire program trying to log on to the website. The following week, they could detail their efforts to actually navigate the site. The week after that, they could all stand there slack-jawed when they discover how high the premiums and deductibles will be.
Riveting television!
HA!
LOL, Prohibition was a Constitutional Amendment yet that got changed so this feckless argument Obamacare is the law of the land is moot… There seems to be some lame argument once law it cannot be changed nor repealed? Really? Explain prohibition to me then.
Obamacare is a disaster we can ill afford. Man up dude, pay your own way?
I wish that were true but I work in CA and all my neighbors are reporting$400 to $800 per month increases in premiums and deductibles that could buy a good used car.
While it’s true the “Affordable” Healthcare Act was passed, and good for some people, that doesn’t mean it is good for the country. It was passed quickly to intentionally not allow the public to find out what it is about, which is taxation, more than actual healthcare. It is designed to bankrupt the country. What it is actually doing is splitting the country. These are all intentional outcomes planned by the socialists. Most people only watch the MSM, so they get a very skewed picture.
Ben, look up the definition of a “tool”. I cannot imagine anyone taking the time to write a post such as yours unless one was paid to do so.
That’s pretty unkind bob. I don’t agree with a lot of what people say but I strive to see where they are coming from. To dismiss my comment in such a way is only self serving in that all your comment did was give you a little satisfaction and in no way added depth or nuance to the conversation. There’s a reason the us has the 37th best healthcare system in he world. At least the Aca is attempting to fix that. At the end of the day, the best thing for the country is to give the law it’s best chance of working, it may surprise a few ppl.
If it still sucks it will be easy to repeal. Then the republicans can point to it failing and win the next couple of elections. Why aren’t they doing that? Because it may actually benefit America, which again even if you don’t believe in it no one can argue its intentions. And for people to say things like ‘it was designed to bankrupt’ the country is just so ridiculous, why would the dems want to purposefully do thAt or purposefully screw people over with high insurance costs. Let the law work as it should and in a year or so we can have an objective look at it and I’ll happily except the result. Unfortunately a lot of republicans are willing it not to work, are hoping it fails, are hoping people aren’t better off because ultimately that is far worse for them as a party.
My originally comment was meant to be helpful, as is this one. Unfortunately most of these comments are very one dimensional, and hate filled. Let’s not call people names or just use emotional empty phrases that have little fact or logic tend but lean towards anecdotal testimonials. Lets add to the conversation rather than vent. :)
There are no benefits! Premiums and expenses will rise, care will deteriorate, taxes are up and the plan will be underfunded because young healthy adults will pay the “tax” rather than buy insurance as the former will be cheaper. Boy are liberals dense.
I got a year’s salary that says you know less than 1% of what’s in this law and you have no idea what the negative impact of this law will be. Let me give you a hint: fewer doctors, higher premiums, lower care, fewer working hours, fewer jobs, fewer employers covering health care costs… Need I go on?
Ben: Please give me one-JUST one-name/website of ANY organization that can & does explain 2500+ pages of this bill! I spent 30+ years in healthcare as a professional, & I’ve YET to find anyone who understands this bill. But YOU know it can “help” people?
Your comment was actually at least nicely written so thank you for that. Im sure theres much of it that i don’t know or understand but I would just quote back what you said – ‘i’ve yet to find anyone who understand this bill’ – EXACTLY. So how can you definitively say it WON’T help people? There are definitely some flaws but i also think the benefits are huge and when a lot of people are explained the benefits or at least explained what the myths are, their opinion of it rapidly changes.
I think the pre-existing conditions part is HUGE – I’ll happily pay more per month for this, that helps me but also helps others in terrible situations (and I am currently unemployed.
Tightening of the rules so more employers offer insurance again is VERY important.
It seems also, that a lot of people who are signing up or logging on to check it out this week, already don’t have insurance so are not really aware what insurance would have cost them before Obamacare – or to put it another way, were unaware of how truly expensive healthcare has become even before obamacare. Im am a young adult and when moved to being self employed and lost my union insurance I was SHOCKED at how much my insurance would be, for anything decent i was looking at $500 a month with a $2000 deductible – so pointless unless i had a terrible accident. Personal under obamacare my insurance will now be about $200 a month with a much lower dedcutible and overall better coverage.
Some people who may pay more, which is unfortunate, may not realize that the insurance may be more but is far better and their previous insurance wouldn’t have actually covered them for larger charges had something terrible happened to them or their family.
As i said though, I dont make much, my insurance going down is a bonus but even if it went up, i would still rather pay that knowing that if i suddenly became diabetic between jobs, i would be covered on my new employers insurance. And feel good knowing that other people can afford healthcare too who couldnt have previously. If it indeed does turn out its more expensive for more people than i will happily vote where i can to adapt, repeal or replace the law. Its been 5 days. Many programs have predicated not to work and yet they live on today.
im just glad no-one on this site has mentioned ‘death panels’ yet! ;)
Per the old Groucho anecdote, I think we’ve established what kind of a woman Hollywood is. Obama’s just haggling over the price.
Nice!
Excellent comment. And when Barack gets his “price” it will be because the RINOs helped make the deal.
CA Endowment – anyone know where their funding is from? Their most recent financial statements don’t say, even though they have $3 billion in assets and only one note related to CA bonds being issued and the proceeds leant to the Endowment many years ago. I am wondering where the initial funding came from – never heard of this public corporation until now. $3B is a large warchest.
While ACA sounded like a good idea in concept, in practice it’s turned out to be a nightmare. Just look at the prices of even the lowest “bronze” plan. The out of pocket expenses are astronomical. WHO can afford this?? I hope Hollywood doesn’t hitch it’s wagon to this turd.
I thought the current ad for “American Horror Story” was distasteful, gross and disgusting…then the news broke today about the dead soldier’s benefits. Makes me want to puke. It’s no wonder Mrs. Obama cancelled her trip to LA. At least she has the good sense not to show her face and ask for DNC money. Unbelievable.
I agree with James Woods.
You must not work in the Movie Biz…..they have a blacklist of all those who not in lockstep with the Democrats
James Woods is a very fine actor, and smart as they come. I’d like to see him go hammer and tongs with his own production company and make some movies America can be proud of.
Yet another government solution in search of a problem. Yes, there are millions who don’t have health insurance but a large majority of them could afford it (or could before the ACA set artificial rates) yet chose not to purchase it. There are far better–and less expensive and intrusive–ways to help those who truly need it.
Just the money being spent to implement and advertise this debacle, including calling on Hollywood to meld in positive messages into their programming content, would provide medical insurance for vast numbers of truly needy people.
Do you really want the same people who run AMTRAK and the post office to manage how you are provided medical care?
For the love of God, stop injecting facts, logic and common sense into your arguments. Liberal heads are going to explode!
They should put that money into getting the damn websites to stop crashing!
Or…
They should put that money into closing the websites down!!! When the main body of serfs see their “premium notice” it will crash and burn anyway, lol.
Unfunded. Liabilities.
Not only is this propaganda desperate and creepy, but it’s a colossal waste of money… especially for a country that can’t even pay its own bills.
Furthermore, our industry is supposed to artfully provide engaging entertainment, not abuse its reach to implement political views and force the audience to digest subliminal or blatant campaigns for said agenda/s.
If this is the way things are heading, I’m ashamed of both our nation and our industry. Don’t let the wolf pull the wool over your eyes, even if they seem like a sheep.
Since Hollywood deals in make believe, it only makes sense to include Obamacare in their shows. I’m sure the message will be how wonderful it is, even though every day now we are hearing from people who are going to be financially destroyed because of it.
Is this even legal? It appears to me, Hollywood studios are using tax-exempt dollars to promote the Democrat party.
Good,a listing of shows not to watch.
MidWestMike: LOL…made me laugh :-)
Ditto!
“Hostages” and “Under the Dome.” Perfect choices. Allow me to recommend “American Horror Story,” “Hell on Wheels,” “Criminal Minds,” and “Breaking Bad.”
I hope their industry crashes and burns, they go bankrupt, then they all rot in Hell. This is why I don’t watch TV or go to movies. I learned long ago that I couldn’t go to any given “innocent” movie and not be subjected some dig at Christians, Republicans, oil companies, or anyone else producing goods or making money. I reached the breaking point a long time ago, and they won’t get my money anymore.
“Hell on Wheels” is indeed a masterpiece. A politically incorrect presentation of real history as a backdrop.
Good! Let them – anyone who supports that mess should be directly associated with it if possible. Just make sure you keep calling it what it is: Obamacare – his name will be associated with it in perpetuity.
Because California is the model of fiscal responsibility. Good luck with that!
The show biz limousine liberals love kissing O-Baby’s arss … and they can also kiss mine.
And Hollywood’s above-the-line aren’t going to be on Obamacare; just the serfs below-the-line. . . .
nice to see Hollywood pushing government propaganda. These same people would simply raise total hell if a Repub admin asked the same or similar of the exact same issue, hell even if it asked Hollywood to produce a pro-US movie would have gotten someone tarred and feathered in some type of skit on a comical show. What a bunch of hypocrites
Joseph Goebbels would weep with joy.
Yeah, so would his boss.
Advocating for the ACA? If your program does that…I don’t care how popular you think you are, I won’t watch and I’ll miss NOTHING.
Yeah, I like UTD. If I see propaganda on the ACA in the show though I’m going to write it off. I watch TV to be entertained, not be propagandized. And I won’t support anything that promotes that load of BS.
We would expect nothing less from Hollywood. Very few of them live in REALVILLE.
It’s time to repeal and replace Hollywood. We need an artistic community that understands how many people died and sacrificed to secure our freedom, not one that works in lockstep with the Democrats to turn us into peons whose decisions are made for us by an all-powerful state.
Propaganda