Noah Wyle Is Going to Washington to Fight for Healthcare Reform
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Noah Wyle may not hold a real medical degree, but the actor has heard story after story from fans and medical professionals who identified with The Pitt's celebrated portrayal of emergency work. As he told Esquire in April, 'it's people who are being strained to their breaking points day in and day out, unfairly in a job where we really need them to be healthy—because their health ultimately reflects on our health.'
So, Wyle is partnering with FIGS, the medical clothing company, to use the HBO Max show's popularity as a platform to improve the lives of healthcare workers in this country. This week, Wyle will head to Washington D.C. with a group of eighteen medical professionals to propose meaningful healthcare reform for an underappreciated workforce that desperately needs help.
'As part of this grassroots effort, we're urging lawmakers to act on three urgent, bipartisan issues that are making health care workers' jobs, and their lives, harder than they need to be: lack of mental health support, crushing administrative burden and financial strain,' Wyle wrote in an op-ed for USA TODAY on Tuesday. 'Our message is simple: Without a supported, protected and fairly treated workforce, there is no patient care.'
In the op-ed, Wyle shared stories he's heard from fans and medical professionals about 'staggering burnout,' a high risk of suicide, and the fear that seeking help from a mental health professional might jeopardize their medical license. As for the latter, comedian Nathan Fielder recently brought up a similar issue to Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen on HBO's The Rehearsal, citing pilots who were fearful to seek professional help in fear of losing their pilot's license.
'That's why one of our priorities is reauthorization and funding of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which includes federal mental health programs for health care workers as well as grants for peer support, training and institutional culture change, especially in rural and underserved areas,' Wyle wrote. Though the Protection Act was enacted in 2022 on a 'nearly unanimous bipartisan basis,' according to the actor, the bill lapsed in 2024 without congressional action to renew.
Wyle also plans to advocate for fewer prior authorization delays—which add unnecessary paperwork from insurance companies for 'permission to treat their patients'—as well as fair compensation for the 80-hour weeks that some healthcare workers face.
Kudos to Wyle for working so damn hard to make a difference. As comedian Nathan Fielder explored in The Rehearsal, it's difficult for actors and comedians to sit before Congress and advocate for issues they care about. Most of the time, their actions are dismissed—as if entertainers aren't also humans themselves. But as Esquire recently explored in our cover story with Bono, it's possible that former President George W. Bush would have never passed the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) without the U2 singer's continued advocacy.
'These aren't partisan issues,' Wyle wrote. 'They're practical ones. And they're urgent."
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The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
‘The Pitt's' Noah Wyle tells Congress: Health care workers are facing a ‘crisis'
He plays a doctor on TV, but Noah Wyle is making a pitch for real-life health care workers at the Capitol, meeting with lawmakers about legislation addressing burnout, mental health and more. 'I've spent the bulk of my adult life playing an emergency room physician, but I am here today with the people who really do the work for a living, and to share some of the pressures and struggles that they're facing,' Wyle, who stars as Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch on Max's 'The Pitt,' said as he led a panel discussion on Thursday at the Cannon House Office Building. 'Health care professionals today are navigating chronic understaffing. They are losing hours to red tape and administrative tasks. Many are facing mental health struggles with limited institutional support and financial pressure that makes it feel impossible to stay. It's not sustainable,' Wyle, 54, said. He said that growing up with a mom who worked as a registered nurse gave him an 'up close and personal look at how demanding this job can be. And I've learned in recent years how much harder this job has become.' The 'ER' alum's mom, Marjorie Speer, joined her son along with more than a dozen health care workers at the event. Wyle, who came to Washington with the health care apparel company, FIGS, was poised to meet with lawmakers to urge them to reauthorize the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. The bill's proponents say it would help support the mental health of frontline health care providers through federal programs and training and would reduce the risk of suicide and burnout. 'This is not a workforce issue. This is a patient health care issue. This is a national health care crisis, and that is why we are here: To listen, and to learn and to talk about what can change when we take these stories seriously and work together constructively on them in a bipartisan way,' the actor said. 'Because if we don't have a healthy and functioning health care workforce, we don't have health care at all,' Wyle said. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), who noted that he was one of two pharmacists in Congress, told the group, 'I've seen health care. I've seen it firsthand, and I've seen the stress. I've seen the work that goes into health care, and the work and the stress that health care workers have, and it's something that needs to be addressed.' 'When it comes down to it, whether you're Republican, or Democrat or independent, we all want the same thing when it comes to health care: We want accessible, affordable, quality health care,' Carter said. 'We've got to be there, and we've got to make sure that we take the stigma out of this situation and that we enable people to seek help that they need,' Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said, mentioning he's faced his 'own little journey in this [health care] space' for the last five years after being diagnosed with long COVID-19. Asked if it was harder to play a doctor on the small screen or to press lawmakers in a divided Congress to pass legislation, Wyle told ITK with a grin, 'This is definitely more fun.' 'This is an incredible opportunity to come to Washington to be an advocate and sit on this panel with these people — it's an incredible honor for me,' he said, adding he was especially grateful to share the experience with his mom. 'I think my day job is harder and this is more rewarding,' he said. During a more lighthearted moment, Wyle also divulged which lawmaker he'd want to play. 'I don't want to pick favorites here,' the Emmy-nominated performer told ITK, before saying matter-of-factly, 'Abraham Lincoln.' Someone in the crowd exclaimed in response: 'You've got the beard for it!'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Noah Wyle Is Going to Washington to Fight for Healthcare Reform
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Noah Wyle may not hold a real medical degree, but the actor has heard story after story from fans and medical professionals who identified with The Pitt's celebrated portrayal of emergency work. As he told Esquire in April, 'it's people who are being strained to their breaking points day in and day out, unfairly in a job where we really need them to be healthy—because their health ultimately reflects on our health.' So, Wyle is partnering with FIGS, the medical clothing company, to use the HBO Max show's popularity as a platform to improve the lives of healthcare workers in this country. This week, Wyle will head to Washington D.C. with a group of eighteen medical professionals to propose meaningful healthcare reform for an underappreciated workforce that desperately needs help. 'As part of this grassroots effort, we're urging lawmakers to act on three urgent, bipartisan issues that are making health care workers' jobs, and their lives, harder than they need to be: lack of mental health support, crushing administrative burden and financial strain,' Wyle wrote in an op-ed for USA TODAY on Tuesday. 'Our message is simple: Without a supported, protected and fairly treated workforce, there is no patient care.' In the op-ed, Wyle shared stories he's heard from fans and medical professionals about 'staggering burnout,' a high risk of suicide, and the fear that seeking help from a mental health professional might jeopardize their medical license. As for the latter, comedian Nathan Fielder recently brought up a similar issue to Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen on HBO's The Rehearsal, citing pilots who were fearful to seek professional help in fear of losing their pilot's license. 'That's why one of our priorities is reauthorization and funding of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which includes federal mental health programs for health care workers as well as grants for peer support, training and institutional culture change, especially in rural and underserved areas,' Wyle wrote. Though the Protection Act was enacted in 2022 on a 'nearly unanimous bipartisan basis,' according to the actor, the bill lapsed in 2024 without congressional action to renew. Wyle also plans to advocate for fewer prior authorization delays—which add unnecessary paperwork from insurance companies for 'permission to treat their patients'—as well as fair compensation for the 80-hour weeks that some healthcare workers face. Kudos to Wyle for working so damn hard to make a difference. As comedian Nathan Fielder explored in The Rehearsal, it's difficult for actors and comedians to sit before Congress and advocate for issues they care about. Most of the time, their actions are dismissed—as if entertainers aren't also humans themselves. But as Esquire recently explored in our cover story with Bono, it's possible that former President George W. Bush would have never passed the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) without the U2 singer's continued advocacy. 'These aren't partisan issues,' Wyle wrote. 'They're practical ones. And they're urgent." You Might Also Like Kid Cudi Is All Right 16 Best Shoe Organizers For Storing and Displaying Your Kicks
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
‘The Pitt' Star Noah Wyle Calls on Congress to Help Health Care Workers: ‘These Aren't Partisan Issues'
'The Pitt' star Noah Wyle announced that he will be going in front of Congress to call for greater legislative and financial support for America's struggling health care workers. In an op-ed published Tuesday by USA Today, the actor, who has become deeply familiar with the health care industry through his roles on 'ER' and 'The Pitt,' revealed that he plans to travel to Capitol Hill this week with ambassadors of FIGS, an apparel company dedicated to supporting and standing up for health care workers. He will join 18 health care professionals and his mother, a retired nurse, on the trip to Washington. 'Since ['The Pitt'] premiered, I've heard from countless health care workers who've told me they finally feel seen,' Wyle wrote. 'Their stories echo the same themes: exhaustion, compassion and a system that threatens to make their life's work unsustainable.' In Washington, Wyle and his fellow advocates will ask Congress to act on the lack of mental health support, as well as the administrative burden and financial strain, that health care workers are struggling with right now. Wyle and co. are specifically seeking the reauthorization and renewed funding of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which was enacted with bipartisan support in 2022 but expired in 2024. The act sets aside funding for both federal mental health programs for health care workers and financial grants designed to strengthen peer support, training programs and encourage cultural change at an institutional level. The group will also be calling on Congress to move forward with reforms that are meant to take clinical judgment out of the hands of insurance companies and back into those of health care workers. 'Administrative red tape is strangling the system. Physicians and their staff spend nearly two full business days each week dealing with prior authorization – essentially asking insurance companies for permission to treat their patients,' Wyle explained. Finally, Wyle said he plans to address the financial issues plaguing health care workers' lives. Citing one FIGS ambassador's experience working 80-hour weeks while barely being able to afford groceries, Wyle announced his intention to champion the Awesome Humans Act, which is a proposed federal tax credit intended to provide health care workers with some much-needed financial relief. 'Our message is simple: Without a supported, protected and fairly treated workforce, there is no patient care,' Wyle argued. 'These aren't partisan issues. They're practical ones. And they're urgent. Because when our health care professionals are burned out, buried in paperwork or forced to leave the field altogether, we all pay the price.' 'I'm not a policymaker. I'm not a clinician. But I've spent my career listening to those who are, and I've seen the difference they make when it matters most,' the 'Pitt' star concluded. 'To anyone who's ever benefited from the knowledge, care and courage of a health care professional, now's the time to show up for them and take action. They've had our backs. It's time we have theirs.' The post 'The Pitt' Star Noah Wyle Calls on Congress to Help Health Care Workers: 'These Aren't Partisan Issues' appeared first on TheWrap.
