Lifetime Television, a cable network that provides progressive public affairs programming to 67.7 million households, is also reaching out to the community on pressing healthcare issues through its dynamic and highly interactive "Take A Minute" vignette series.
On June 2, the 60-second spot, hosted by award-winning journalist Linda Ellerbee, exposed the widespread discrimination against victims of domestic violence by large U.S. insurance companies.
In the spot, Ellerbee unleashes disturbing statistics about a little known trend among insurance companies: "In 1994, eight of the 16 largest insurers in this country denied, limited or set higher premiums on insurance for women, based on the increased risk of being a victim of domestic violence."
Then she issues a call to action to sign an online petition (http://www.lifetime.com) to protect battered women and children who are denied coverage based on court and medical records.
This viewer-driven approach to raising awareness levels on riveting healthcare issues is fueling incredible response and arming healthcare advocacy groups with extraordinary support.
Last fall, Ellerbee asked Lifetime viewers in a Take A Minute 60-second spot on "drive-through mastectomies" to protest by signing an online petition. The appeal generated 17,000 signatures that were eventually sent to first lady Hillary Clinton and lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
When viewers join the online petition to ban insurance discrimination of domestic violence victims, they are linked to a number of anti-violence resources like Victory Over Violence, National Victims Center and the National Domestic Hotline.
(Lifetime, 212/424-7396)