How Many More Patient Revolts?

So Wal-Mart has been going after this lady Debbie Shank for years. She is a former employee who was seriously disabled in a car accident seven years ago. A trucking company was found by a court to be at fault in the accident, and Shank received a settlement of about $400,000, and afterwards Wal-Mart demanded all of that money - plus interest - for paying Debbie's medical fees through her health care plan through the years. In other words, they wanted to make a penniless, disabled woman more penniless. The Supreme Court refused to hear Shank's injunction against Wal-Mart and it looked like she'd have to fork over the settlement money.

But after much public outcry, Wal-Mart relented. Says Wal-Mart Watch:

“We are elated that after months of public pressure and national outrage, Wal-Mart says it is finally going to do the right thing for Debbie Shank and her family.

“During the past few weeks, Jim Shank has brought to life Debbie’s tragic circumstances and vividly shown that her case is a scorching symbol of Wal-Mart’s decision to insufficiently fund its health care plan for its 1.3 million U.S. workers.

“Debbie’s case exemplifies what Wal-Mart Watch and others see every day: the world’s largest employer choosing to put less into its benefits than it should. This leaves thousands of Wal-Mart associates with choices about preventative care and necessary care that are driven by what they can afford rather than by what is in their best interest. Debbie Shank’s story is not only a personal tragedy; it poses a cautionary tale for all Wal-Mart associates.

As much as anything this shows Keith Olbermann's power - he harped on this for about a week before Wal-Mart gave in. This shows how progressive media and the public can work in tandem to stop inequities in the system and rapacious behavior from multinational corporations. But you have to wonder how much longer we're going to have these reactive patient revolts rather than overhauling this broken health care system that rewards greed and creates these gaps in the first place. Employers and insurance companies shouldn't be ABLE to lord this kind of power over sick citizens. Health care is a fundamental human right. Period.

CNA Forces Insurer to Buckle, Provide Life-Saving Care for Sick California Teen

The CNA has been in the headlines for other reasons lately, but I don't think anyone can discount the incredible activism they have engaged in on behalf of patients being denied life-saving medical treatment. Word now comes of another victory against the "murder by spreadsheet" insurance industry who felt like saving a kid's life wasn't good for business.

In the face of a national campaign on behalf of Nick Colombo, insurance giant PacifiCare has reversed its decisions and agreed to critically needed cancer treatments for the 17-year-old from Placentia, Calif. The decision came after the company was overwhelmed by calls organized by Nick’s friends and family, along with RNs from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, and netroots activists.

Over 100 of Nick’s classmates, friends of the family with their young children, and nurses protested in front of the insurance company headquarters this morning to demand that the approval be put in writing, which a PacifiCare representative, surrounded by T.V. cameras, and promised to do.

“I am extremely happy about PacifiCare’s reversal, said Ricky Colombo, Nick’s 19-year old brother. “The goal was to get treatment for Nick, and CNA/NNOC and other allies helped us with that. We decided to go through with the rally in order to get their decision on the record and make sure they back up their words—and also because there are thousands of others in similar situations who can’t get the care they need. We feel blessed to have this community supporting our family.”

In the fight for universal health care, all sides of the debate on the left are going to be instrumental. The CNA's tenacity and effectiveness in organizing "patient revolts" like this is very valuable, particularly to show the inequities in the current broken health care system. Activists shut down PacifiCare's phone system on multiple occasions before they capitulated.

To beat the powerful interests that want to maintain the status quo you're going to need every activist and every strategy you can find. And we're going to win this fight, one patient at a time.