A new medical series that has been praised by fans for being incredibly 'realistic' has vowed to focus its second season on the impact President Donald Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' will have on healthcare in the US.
The 79-year-old president fought hard to get the legislation passed, falling out with Elon Musk in the process. While it offers tax relief to the wealthiest Americans, it comes at the cost of reducing funding to Medicaid.
Of course, Medicaid is the largest program in the country to provide medical and health-related services to low-income people, and some 12 million people could now be left without health insurance - according to the Congressional Budget Office.
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Now, the creators of The Pitt, which was released on MAX in January, have detailed how they will draw inspiration for season two from the potential effects of Trump's law on ER rooms throughout the nation.
“The Medicaid changes are going to have a significant impact, and you don’t have to take a political position to discuss what the impact is actually going to be,” executive producer John Wells told Variety.
"I don’t want to have an argument about whether or not they’re appropriate, what Congress did or didn’t do. But they’re going to have on-the-ground, immediate consequences in emergency rooms, and nobody’s arguing with that.
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"That’s a bipartisan agreement. You’ve got very Republican senators from Missouri like Josh Hawley agreeing that this is going to be a problem.”
Wells went on to note how it isn't the first time an administration has attempted to pull funding from the healthcare industry.
He said: "It was frankly - again, not trying to be political - but they were disastrous in the two states [Arkansas and Georgia] that tried it, and they backed out of it and stopped doing it. So, we have a lot of people to call on to ask what’s likely to happen.”
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While R. Scott Gemmill, who also serves as an executive producer on the show, added: "When people have less finances from the government to help them with their healthcare, they’re going to get less healthcare, and that means they’re going to end up in the only place where they can get free healthcare, which is the ER.
"So the ER is just going to get busier and busier and become more of a safety net, and it’s already broken, so the system is destined for a tipping point."
As for what fans are saying about the show, one user took to Reddit to share how they were blown away with what they saw.
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"I just finished episodes one and two of this slice of life, urban medical drama, and I loved it's chaotic complexity," they penned.
"The dynamic between departments and the whole human condition was thoughtful, and the medical accuracy was really impressive."
While another applauded it as being the 'most realistic' show they have come across.
"I work in an ER--It's the most realistic portrayal of an ER I've ever seen (taking crown from ER season 1), right down to the burned out doctors & nurses doing their best is a broken system that neglects them and their patients," they noted.
Topics: Film and TV, Donald Trump, Politics
Joe Yates