This is not a good Christmas story ...
17 year old Nataline Sarkysian had leukemia.
She was awaiting a liver transplant in the UCLA Medical Center.
Her insurance provider CIGNA Healthcare denied her the coverage for the procedure claiming it was "experimental".
The news reached and angered crowds of people across the nation into responding with protests against the CIGNA company.
Last Thursday, with hundreds of people gathering outside their office in Glensdale, California; The company changed their mind and allowed her the operation.
Hours later after recovering from a bone marrow transplant from her brother - Nataline died from "complications".
The family and many of us have blamed CIGNA Healthcare for her death, saying the health insurance giant's initial refusal to pay for a liver transplant contributed to her death.
A visibly angry John Edwards chimed in on the incident, "We're gonna take their power away and we're not gonna have this kind of problem again."
I've already been here.
6 years ago my mother died in her hospital bed recovering from the bone marrow transplant that was to save her from leukemia.
I know exactly how they feel.
I would certainly blame the insurance company here too.
Hell, I blamed everybody I could, because it wasn't fair.
Yet (again) my opinion in this matter falls differently than the media & political tooling of this tragedy.
While the majority of you are following John Edwards' use of this situation, I'm thinking something else.
I'd say people are overlooking something.
Why are we not pointing the finger at the doctors, physicians, hospital, their lawyers or the organ procurement organization that did absolutely nothing until they knew they would get paid ?
Instead of completely revamping a system that is meant to help pay for expensive medicines treatments hospital visits/stays & surgeries ...
How about forcing the people that were caring for Nataline Sarkysian to just do what needed to be done and worry about the cost of it all afterwards ?