Don't Think of a Sick Child: The Framing of the Rockridge Institute's Health Care Security Ad

The initial web ad in the Rockridge Institute's campaign for health care security is intended to make a simple, emotional point: today's profit-first, private, insurance-based health care system forces Americans to choose to exclude millions of Americans from adequate health care.

The ad, called "Don't Think of a Sick Child," is intended to open the campaign. It is an initial message we hope will open minds and hearts to the gravity of our nation's health care crisis.

The ad tells a simple story visually, following the "home movie" lives of two young girls. As we watch them, a mother's voice points out that today's health care system depends upon the exclusion of many so that others could be covered. We simplify that dynamic to a single family. What if you had to choose to sacrifice one of your children so that the other may live?

This is the cruel choice forced upon Americans by today's profit-first health care system. Insurance companies earn a profit on health care that is not delivered, that is, by excluding millions from insurance coverage and by paying out less in claims than they collect in premiums. By denying those with pre-conditions or otherwise judged to be "high risk," the insurance industry guarantees its profits by forcing us to receive health care only because others are denied health care.

That's the simple, emotional frame of the spot. It's something many know, but too few think about. The ad carries with it the core values of progressive morality based upon empathy and the recognition that we are responsible for ourselves and others.