Knowledge of Health Care Terms an Important Issue for Journos

Friday, September 9, 2011

by Bob Meyers 0 comments

A recent column by Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, has important implications for journalists covering the Affordable Care Act. Based on a recent Kaiser survey, Altman writes, “it was a real surprise in our latest tracking poll to learn that most of the uninsured don’t know how much the law will benefit them.”

The implications for journalists are clear – as the Act gets implemented, legally challenged, and debated, it will be up to journalists to make sure the more than 32 million uninsured affected Americans understand what’s being done (or not done) in their names. An awful lot of money is at stake, and the lobbying and jockeying is (and will be) fierce. There’s a real role for reporters to play in order to get out of the echo chamber. The Altman column is a good place to start thinking about the issue.

Tagged Programs