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Sam Pullen, 31, honored his mother's spirit on October 15th by engaging in a sit-in at a Blue Cross in Los Angeles with a group of individuals who gathered to demand that insurance companies immediately grant approval for treatment of all their members with life-threatening conditions.
The sit-in was part of Mobilization for Health Care for All's nationwide sit-ins and protests held to bring attention to the need for a single-payer health care system in America.
Pullen was arrested for participating in the sit-in. Once in jail, he decided to pledge to stay in jail in L.A. until Blue Cross stops denying care to those that need it most.
I spoke to Pullen from his jail cell and we had an intensely powerful and moving conversation.
Pullen's mother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer when he was a teenager. She was covered by Blue Cross when she wanted radiation and chemotherapy to treat the cancer, but when she found out she would need a bone marrow transplant if she expected to continue to live a bit longer, Blue Cross denied coverage for the procedure and claimed it was ??experimental. ?
To fight death, Pullen's mom was put in the unfortunate situation of having to fight the insurance companies while also fighting her cancer. She staged a one-person sit-in and refused to leave until Blue Cross covered her transplant.
She managed to win coverage when she asked an insurance representative if they would give coverage if it meant having a few more years to spend with their kids.
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