The idea behind the series was to look at the early effects of the Affordable Care Act, particularly the expansion of health coverage, in one American city. We focused on Louisville because Kentucky had both created its own insurance exchange and expanded Medicaid, with a Democratic governor who championed the law despite skepticism or downright hostility from many of the state’s voters. The state also has a famously unhealthy populace, making it a compelling laboratory for the law. We wanted the stories and videos to go deep into how the law was affecting people’s lives, from hospital-employed doctors to nurse practitioners at community health centers to patients who qualified for Medicaid and those received subsidized coverage. My beat is covering the Affordable Care Act, and my main assignment in 2014 was to travel the country to look up close at how the law is affecting real people on the ground. Louisville was ground zero for my exploration.
