Community Unites to Tell Health Insurance Industy: Health Care Yes, Insurance Companies No!

The June 19 rally will be the first organized mass expression of popular demand for high-quality, affordable health care directed by patients and doctors, not insurance profiteers.

The June 19 demonstration will be a part of a national day of protest in which citizens and activists in a number of US cities will speak out against our broken health care system and demand its repair, in the form of a universal, doctor- and patient-directed health care system. They are supporting key items of legislation that would implement such a system: SB 840, the California Universal Healthcare Act, authored by California State Senator Sheila Kuehl, in California; and HR 676, The United States National Health Insurance Act, authored by Rep. John Conyers, on the national level.

The AHIP Convention, taking place at Moscone Center from June 18th to 20th, will host private health insurance executives talking about “Insurance Reform”. On the second day of their conference, representatives of the many organizations that have joined to plan and promote the demonstration will show up to give the health insurance industry a rousing Bay Area “un-welcome”.

Remembering Nataline Sarkisyan

The one battle that she wasn’t able to beat was a health insurance company whose main goal was its own bottom line. Despite pleas by her own UCLA doctors,her real care givers ,who gave her great odds of survival with a liver transplant, CIGNA over-ruled them and originally, turned them down. Not satisfied with that answer, what caring family would, she, her community, her doctors and her nurses from CNA/NNOC protested outside the hospital and took their fight directly to CIGNA headquarters to force a reversal. Constant public pressure and nurse advocacy worked.

In a snide reversal letter, CIGNA said it would reverse its decision “this one time” . But it was too late and Nataline quietly slipped out of her coma and died later that evening. In my opinion, “CIGNA” killed this patient with its delays, denials and total lack of decency. By what authority does an insurance company claim to have the right to over-rule a patient’s direct care provider’s medical opinion? Who gave them that power?