“Bankruptcy or Death”: Grey’s Anatomy on “Options” for Workers without Paid Leave
Grey’s Anatomy, the longest running primetime medical show in television history, has helped shine a light on pressing social issues, including the emotional damage and stigma of sexual assault, the terror of undocumented immigrants needing medical treatment, the bumbling of doctors unfamiliar with gender non-conforming patients or staff, and much more. The October 3rd episode added insights into what it means to lack paid sick time.
Spoiler alert:
When the esteemed Dr. Meredith Grey is assigned to a road crew to fulfill her community service, she picks up litter along with the others. But word gets out that she’s a physician and, one by one, crew members seek her advice for various ailments. The supervisor, Robin Schmitt, chews Meredith out for taking people away from their work – until Mer points to a lump on Schmitt’s neck and convinces her to get it checked out by Dr. Jackson Avery.
Jackson shares the diagnosis: Robin has treatable capillary thyroid cancer. Her emotions run the gamut.
‘If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be waiting two months to get checked,” she tells Meredith. “And that’s if I could afford the time off. If I miss work, i don’t get paid. And if i don’t get paid, I can’t pay rent or I can’t pay for my asthma medication.’
Even the smart, passionate doctors at Grey Sloane Memorial Hospital can be clueless about working people’s lives. Meredith assumes insurance pays for the inhaler.
“They cover one a month,” Robin tells her. “I shell out $500 a month if I need another one—which I’m guessing may be cheap compared to what it costs to treat cancer.” Robin and most Americans need decent medical coverage – and paid time to use it.
Jackson tries to be helpful. “We’ll make sure you have options,” he says.
Robin stares into the void she’s facing. “Yeah,” she replies, “bankruptcy or death.”
The good news we want to share with the makers and viewers of Grey’s Anatomy is that workers in Washington state do have access to paid sick days, which includes time to seek a diagnosis. And starting in January 2020, they’ll also be able to get paid family and medical leave to take time for cancer treatments and other longer-term care needs. That may be too late for the fictional Robin Schmitt but we’re grateful to the Washington Work and Family Coalition for fighting to make sure all workers are covered – and grateful to Grey’s Anatomy for helping workers like Robin get seen.
In just three years, our movement has tripled the number of states with a paid family and medical leave program, paving the way for federal action. Because everyone needs options when they have a treatable disease. Bankruptcy or death should never be among them.
by Ellen Bravo, Co-Director
