Original air date: Dec. 2, 2009

Nearly 1.6 million people in North Carolina have no health insurance, and those who do sometimes find out they’re not covered for some conditions, leaving them buried under a mountain of medical debt.

Skyrocketing health care costs have prevented many businesses from providing health care coverage for their employees and have put a financial squeeze on businesses that do provide health coverage.

Regardless of where people stand politically in the debate over health-care reform, most people seem to agree that there are problems in the system of health care that need to be fixed.

Hosted by WRAL News anchor David Crabtree, Focal Point: “Critical Condition” examines the challenges that people and businesses in North Carolina face under the current health care system.

It profiles the uninsured, under-insured and people struggling with the high cost of health care. It also looks at how some medical providers have tried to create a safety net to treat some of the uninsured as a temporary measure until a permanent solution can be found.

Host: David Crabtree
Writer/Producer: Clay Johnson
Photographer/Editor: Jay Jennings