In Due Season highlights the systemic racial health inequities that Southern Black communities have faced for centuries and persist today. After the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama, every state had the opportunity to expand affordable health coverage through Medicaid for millions who don’t receive employer coverage and don’t make enough to afford private insurance. But, lawmakers in 10 states have persistently refused to expand Medicaid. These political decisions have left more than 2 million people – almost all of whom live in the South and a majority of whom are Black and Brown – without access to health coverage. They live in the “Medicaid coverage gap.” In this 34-minute documentary, we meet three people living without health insurance in that gap:
Neidre Fears, a local of Tupelo, MS, is a single mom raising three kids. She works three jobs on a freelancer income just to make ends meet. Following a cancer scare after her first pregnancy, Neidre lost her postpartum Medicaid coverage, and now finds herself making “too much” to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance. She’s unable to afford to see a doctor and is left seeking natural remedies for health issues.
In the neighboring state of Georgia, Pamela Williams – or “Miss Pam,” as she is affectionately called by those who know her – is a stalwart in her Sylvester community and family. After a shocking diagnosis of rheumatoid polyarthritis in 2011, her world flipped upside down. Despite pushing through the pain to work for years, her doctors eventually told her she could no longer work – leaving her without the employer health insurance she relied on. With her disability status up in the air, Pam is left without access to health insurance and the medicine she needs to function. Nevertheless, she’s remained steadfast in lifting up her community, spreading awareness on health coverage options in her community and church.
Lastly, we meet Brian Williams, a foster youth life coach in Tallahassee, FL. While on the job in his early 20s, Brian became fatigued to the point of needing medical attention. A trip to the emergency room revealed he has Type II diabetes. While he had Medicaid coverage as a foster care youth, he’s since aged out and finds his income above the required threshold to qualify for Medicaid in Florida. The high cost of plans in the private marketplace creates an untenable situation for him as he continues to live with diabetes and unable to afford health insurance. He’s had to resort to less effective, over-the-counter insulin from Walmart on top of other life changes to stay in good health.
Nowhere are racial health disparities more pronounced than in the 10 states that have failed to expand Medicaid. And the data is clear: People are living sicker and dying younger in these states. In Due Season shares the experience of those left behind as state lawmakers continue to turn down billions in federal funding and put their thumb on who is and who isn’t deserving of healthcare.
In partnership with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, In Due Season allows us to meet individuals at the heart of this issue, during a time when lawmakers continue to stall. If Medicaid were expanded in the remaining 10 states, more than two million people, a majority of whom are people of color, would qualify for health insurance – helping to address long-standing racial health disparities, boosting local economies, and lifting up communities systemically left behind. In Due Season asks many questions, but ultimately leaves the answers with the audience and stakeholders who hold the power to advocate and bring about this seismic shift that is long overdue.
