'Cashing Out': How AIDS gave rise to the viatical settlement industry скачать в хорошем качестве

'Cashing Out': How AIDS gave rise to the viatical settlement industry

In this exclusive video interview, filmmaker Matthew Nadel discusses the ethical, personal, and historical questions behind Cashing Out, his award-shortlisted short film exploring the origins of the viatical settlement industry during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. Cashing Out examines how terminally ill AIDS patients sold their life insurance policies for immediate cash at a time when government support and effective treatments were largely nonexistent. While viatical settlements provided dignity, financial relief, and moments of joy for many who were dying, the film also confronts the uncomfortable reality that investors often profited from quick deaths. Nadel reflects on the moral tension at the heart of the industry, noting that many participants viewed viaticals not as exploitation, but as a necessary act of survival amid widespread political and cultural abandonment. The film centers on Scott Page, who helped broker early viatical deals, alongside powerful firsthand accounts from activist Sean Strub and advocate DeeDee Ngozi Chamblee. The project also became deeply personal for Nadel after learning that his own father had invested in viatical policies during the AIDS epidemic — profits that indirectly helped fund his upbringing. That discovery forced Nadel to grapple with questions about capitalism, morality, and healthcare that still resonate today. As AIDS treatments improved in the mid-1990s and HIV became a manageable condition, the viatical market collapsed, leading to investor losses, legal battles, and renewed scrutiny of the industry — issues that echo in today’s broader life settlement market. Ultimately, Cashing Out challenges viewers to consider whether Americans should ever be forced to sell life insurance to survive — and what the story of viaticals reveals about inequality, healthcare access, and moral responsibility in times of crisis.