Noah Wyle: I play a doctor on 'The Pitt.' Real health care workers need our help.
I've spent a lot of my life wearing scrubs, although I never passed Anatomy 101.
On "The Pitt," I play an attending physician in a high-intensity emergency department. It's fiction, but it's grounded in real stories – shaped by medical advisers who've lived them and delivered with reverence for the professionals we're honored to represent.
Still, it wasn't until my mother, a retired nurse, watched a scene where my character lists the names of patients he couldn't save that I truly grasped the emotional weight of this work, as she shared a flood of stories she's carried silently for decades. I've never seen her respond that way to something I've acted in.
And she's not alone. Since the show premiered, I've heard from countless health care workers who've told me they finally feel seen. Their stories echo the same themes: exhaustion, compassion and a system that threatens to make their life's work unsustainable.
Their stories have stayed with me. And that's why I jumped at the chance when I was approached by FIGS, a health care apparel company with a history of standing up for the health care workforce, to go to Capitol Hill with them this week. While on Capitol Hill, I will advocate alongside a group of FIGS ambassadors made up of 18 extraordinary nurses, doctors, students and other health care professionals.
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.
Our message is simple: Without a supported, protected and fairly treated workforce, there is no patient care. Whatever other important issues are being debated, this has to be a priority.
Health care workers are experiencing burnout at staggering levels. Half of physicians and nurses report being burned out, and health care workers face a 32% higher risk of suicide than the general population. Even when support exists, many fear that seeking help could jeopardize their license, career or reputation.
Opinion: 'The Pitt' captures something real about doctors. Medicine can benefit from it.
That issue has hit home for many of the health care professionals who will join me in Washington. One nurse said she struggled with depression and anxiety due to the conditions at work and came close to taking her own life. A doctor described dental students whose teeth were ground away by stress. And an oncology nurse shared the heartbreaking story of a young cancer patient who died because of the paperwork delays in getting him the lifesaving medication he needed.
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.
The law was enacted in 2022 on a nearly unanimous bipartisan basis. But unfortunately, it expired in 2024. It should now be reauthorized with just as much support as it received initially.
At the same time, 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.
One ambassador, a primary care provider, told us she spends nearly half her day fighting insurance denials and filling out duplicative forms – far more time than she spends with patients.
Opinion: For patients and doctors, insurance prior authorization can be a dangerous game
These delays don't just cause frustration: 1 in 4 physicians say prior authorization has led to serious patient harm. We're urging Congress to move forward with reforms that help put clinical judgment back where it belongs: in the hands of trained professionals.
And then there's pay. Fewer than 6 in 10 health care workers feel fairly compensated, and only 38% see any link between their performance and their paycheck.
That disconnect is pushing people out of the field and fueling dangerous shortages.
Another ambassador, a resident physician, described working 80-hour weeks while struggling to afford groceries. Stories like hers are why FIGS is championing the Awesome Humans Act, a proposed federal tax credit to provide frontline health care workers with meaningful financial relief.
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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: after a car accident, during cancer treatment, in delivery rooms and at the end of life.
This week, I'll stand with them in the halls of Congress, and I'll be proud to do it with my mom and 18 other amazing health care workers.
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.
Noah Wyle is an actor, writer, producer and director who currently stars in 'The Pitt.'
You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Noah Wyle: 'The Pitt' taught me the struggles doctors face | Opinion
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The Hill
12-06-2025
- 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
12-06-2025
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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
