"Blue Shield, Blue Cross, Don't Kill My Wife"--A Powerful Case in Support of SB 840 and the Need for Health Insurance Reform in

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

State Senator Sheila Kuehl, author of SB 840, the single payer health insurance bill dubbed "Medicare for All," joins Allen and Cynthia Campbell in front of the state Capitol in Sacramento.

By Frank D. Russo

An incredibly sad story of two human beings--a nurse, who despite 30 years of working and paying health insurance premiums is now uninsurable with a rare form of cancer--and her loving and supportive husband--was told both outside the state Capitol and inside to the Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday, as it debated, and eventually passed SB 840 by Senator Kuehl that would bring universal health insurance coverage to all Californians.

On the Capitol lawn, holding a sign that said, "Blue Shield, Blue Cross, Don't Kill My Wife," Allen Campbell stood next to his wife and supported her when she became weak. They spoke to passersby using a bullhorn. I was able to talk with them and to get to know them. They are both extraordinary individuals who at great peril have helped to save victims of genocide in Rwanda. They are also ordinary Californians who are experiencing a hellish nightmare with the current private health insurance system in our state.

Here is what they had to say to the Assembly Committee, speaking truth to power that brought tears to my eyes and many others.

Cynthia Campbell

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me here today. It is truly an honor.

My name is Cynthia Campbell. I have been a registered nurse for 30 years and have always kept my health insurance current. I have paid 30 years of health insurance premiums as a healthy customer; but now that I have been diagnosed with cancer, I am uninsurable and the system will soon leave me to fight my cancer without health care coverage and with no place to turn.

In just a few short weeks I will lose my health insurance while I battle an aggressive cancer because my insurance company has informed me that they will not renew my policy.