“Hopefully we’ll be back on Medicaid by then.”
“How’d you lose it?”
“They sent a redetermination letter to our old apartment. It didn’t get forwarded.”
“And you haven’t been able to get it back since?”
“I’ve been trying for months. To get re-enrolled, you need tax returns, pay stubs… I cut hair. My income fluctuates.”
– The Pitt, Season 2, Episode 13
Earlier this season, a storyline on The Pitt followed an asthmatic boy whose condition spirals into a life-threatening emergency after he is forced to go without medication. His lung collapses. Doctors rush to stabilize him. A risky procedure is considered. The scene plays out with the urgency and intensity expected of a hospital drama. But the real cause of the crisis is not medical. It is administrative.
The boy’s family lost Medicaid coverage after a redetermination notice was sent to the wrong address and never reached them. His mother spent months trying to get coverage restored, navigating paperwork, tracking down documents, and attempting to prove eligibility in a system that is often difficult to access and even harder to navigate. Redeterminations, along with a broader web of unnecessary paperwork and bureaucratic barriers, quietly strip people of coverage. These are not minor inconveniences. They interrupt treatment, delay care, and push people into crisis.
At the National Health Law Program (NHeLP), we fight for policies that protect access to care and go to court when coverage or services are illegally denied. We are on the front lines of defending Medicaid, which supports health care systems across the country and provides health care to more than 70 million people, including low-income families, people with disabilities, pregnant people, and older adults.
And it is not just redeterminations. With striking clarity, The Pitt shows how the policies we work on shape real lives: an autistic woman receives respectful, competent care for a routine sexual health issue; a rural family drives nearly 80 miles for emergency care because their local hospital was shuttered by federal funding cuts; the chilling effect when families must choose between seeking care and possible interactions with immigration enforcement; and the stark difference in care when it is delivered in a language the patient understands and when they do not.
What surprised me was not these storylines themselves, but that they appeared so prominently on one of the most popular shows in the country. It is remarkable to see a major television drama center Medicaid in these ways, as both a vital and fragile part of the health care system. That visibility reflects the program’s success and its importance. Medicaid has expanded access to care for millions of people, providing essential services that allow millions to manage their health, support their families, and live with dignity.
At the same time, the storylines capture something equally and painfully true: Medicaid and access to quality care can be hard to get, difficult to navigate, and easy to lose. And the situation is getting worse. For decades, many politicians have targeted Medicaid and other social safety net programs, and callously slandered the people who rely on them. They’ve underfunded and defunded programs, and sought to rollback hard won protections.
Even more alarming, last year’s passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (OBBBA) represents one of the most serious threats in years, with one trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts and new work requirements and paperwork rules that make it easier to lose coverage even when someone remains eligible. For the last year, NHeLP has been working to prepare advocates and Medicaid stakeholders across the country about the impacts of this law. And now the consequences are coming into focus. In the next few months, individuals will lose coverage. Families will start to lose stability. Communities will lose a critical foundation of support. And as The Pitt makes clear, these policy choices do not stay on paper. They show up in emergency rooms, in crises that could have been prevented.
As NHeLP and advocates across the country mark Medicaid Awareness Month, we are lifting up both the program’s essential role in the lives of more than 70 million people and the growing threats it faces. Medicaid is a cornerstone of our health care system, providing access to care that allows people to manage chronic conditions, recover from illness, and live with dignity. Yet, massive cuts and new restrictions will make that care harder to access and easier to lose.
The Pitt might be fictional, but it depicts a very real America, where a frayed health care system strains under multiple, overlapping crises. But the show also depicts a strong spirit of compassion, dedication, and a commitment to serving the entire community, regardless of who they are, why they need care, or their ability to pay. A similar spirit runs through the work of the National Health Law Program. For over 50 years, NHeLP has worked to protect and advance the rights of the tens of millions of people struggling to access affordable, quality health care coverage free from discrimination. During Medicaid Awareness Month and every month, we will continue this fight.
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