The segment was part of CBS News’ series “Affordability in America.”Â
Dokoupil opened by noting Hartford has been nicknamed the “Insurance Capital of the World,” making it an ideal spot to find out why costs are rising.
People Dokoupil spoke with on the street were less than thrilled with their health insurance, variously describing health insurance as costing a lot while covering little and “kind of a scam.”
Dokoupil also interviewed state Healthcare Advocate Kathleen Holt, a state official tasked with helping people navigate health insurance and resolve disputes with their insurers.Â
Holt told him she hears from people so resigned that they tell her they may as well just die.Â
The segment cited a March Gallup poll that found 61% of Americans worry “a great deal” about the cost and accessibility of healthcare.Â
Holt highlighted “profit takers” in the healthcare system, including providers and insurers, when asked by Dokoupil about why costs are so high.Â
She said lawmakers could help by reducing medical debt and increase the prevention of illness in the first place.
Dokoupil has been traveling around the country after taking over “CBS Evening News” from co-anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. He previously anchored “CBS Mornings.”
Dokoupil was born in Connecticut but spent most of his childhood in Maryland and Florida. His memoir, “The Last Pirate: A Father, His Son, and the Golden Age of Marijuana,” details his father’s exploits smuggling marijuana in Winnebagos from the Florida Keys.Â
Dokoupil is married to Katy Tur, an MS NOW anchor. He lives in New York with his family.
