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Discussion with director Pete Nicks about healthcare and Highland Hospital

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Californians have been sorting through potential  healthcare plans for  more than a month now. So far more than 100,000  people have enrolled in Covered California, but there are still nearly 7 million  uninsured people  in the state;  California has the highest uninsured population in the country.  

In Oakland, Highland Hospital has been the county’s public hospital for decades, serving thousands of uninsured.  It was also  the setting for a 2012 documentary called: The Waiting Room directed by Pete Nicks. His goal with the film was to help people walk in the shoes of the uninsured, something he thinks is especially important today as we debate the future of affordable health care in America.

Pete Nicks: “There’s a wall put between the lives of real people and the issue, particularly when an issue becomes so political - such that the human story is lost. So what we are trying to do is bring that story back into the conversation.”

To hear the entire interview, click the audio player above.

To learn more about the Waiting Room as well as visit their multi-media project, clickhere.

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