Californians, Health Care and New Hampshire

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

While the jury is still out on whether California will count in the nomination process, Californians and healthcare were front and center this weekend in New Hampshire. The family of Nataline Sarkisyan was out on the stump yesterday with Senator John Edwards and their presence prompted sharp words between Iowa's second and third place Democratic finishers.
 
Sarkisyan was the 17 year old Angeleno who died a few weeks ago while Cigna dickered on whether to pay for a potentially lifesaving liver transplant. The Sarkisyan family fight against Cigna highlighted the fact that the healthcare crisis extends beyond those who are uninsured. The Sarkisyan family was insured, but that did not matter. Cigna refused to approve what Sarkisyan's doctors said was a necessary and lifesaving treatment, relenting only after a steady stream of negative publicity. Unfortunately, Cigna's reversal came too late. Sarkisyan died two hours after Cigna relented.
 
On January 3, following the Iowa caucuses, Edwards noted the Sarkisyan case as the reason that he does not believe that a President should negotiate with the healthcare industry about reform. Sarkisyan's mother saw the speech and contacted the Edwards' campaign. Saturday night, during the ABC/Facebook/WMUR debate, Edwards again mentioned the Sarkisyan case when discussing his sponsorship of a patients bill of rights.

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