The American College of Emergency Physicians released a video in response to Cigna's $9 million TV physician ad campaign, calling on health insurers to provide fair coverage for "real-life" emergency physicians and patients.
The video closely parodies Cigna's ad, replacing originial script with messages nodding toward the increasing deductibles, premiums and narrow networks currently burdening patients and emergency physicians.
"Now, thanks to the insurance industry, emergency care is covered less and less and patients are paying more and more," one physician says in the ACEP video. "We are real emergency physicians — and it is our privilege to take care of almost 140 million patients every year — but we're asking the insurance industry to give us and our patients fair coverage for value," the physicians say.
Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna's 30-second September TV ad, aimed at convincing viewers to get annual checkups, featured actors such as Patrick Dempsey (known as Derek Shepherd or "McDreamy" of "Grey's Anatomy"), Lisa Edelstein (known as Lisa Cuddy in "House") and Noah Wyle (known as John Carter in "ER").
ACEP president Rebecca Parker, MD, said the organization was parodying Cigna to shed light on the "lack of fair coverage" in emergency medical settings and urge patients to better understand their policies.