This week, family and friends of Ken Jones, a retired firefighter, appealed to the city’s Board of Health to convince Blue Shield to reconsider its denial of vital cancer treatment coverage under the city-run health care program, a situation affecting many others as well.
Ken Jones and other retired firefighters gathered at City Hall, with family members present, seeking intervention from the Board of Health regarding Blue Shield’s rejection of coverage. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, part of the board, noted that the city had changed from United Healthcare last year believing it was a better option.
“I have to stand here and plead because an insurance company has deemed profits more crucial than the life of a man who dedicated his life to serving this city,” Rachel Jones, Ken’s daughter, stated during the hearing.
Rachel shared more about her father’s sacrifices, saying, “He ran into burning buildings, inhaled toxic fumes, and risked his life countless times to save others. Now, when he needs help most, the insurance company provided by this city, Blue Shield, refuses to provide the medications doctors say are essential for his survival.”
Dorsey mentioned that the commission would look into the claims made by the firefighters. “I doubt this board agreed to anything like that when it based its decision on the RFP process,” he said, pointing out his personal loss to lung cancer. “I lost my mother to lung cancer, and she raised a son who fought for people’s right to health care.”
A fundraiser had been organized to assist with Ken’s treatment for stage 4 metastatic lung cancer, but it ceased on Wednesday after news broke that Blue Shield had denied coverage. The campaign had almost reached its $50,000 goal over the weekend.
“Firefighters, whether active or retired, shouldn’t have to beg for their lives,” remarked former fire chief Janine Nicholson, a cancer survivor herself, during the board meeting. “This isn’t the first time something like this has occurred for firefighters, and unless things change, it certainly won’t be the last.”
California labor law assumes that a firefighter’s cancer diagnosis is inherently work-related.
Recently, the San Francisco Fire Department took a significant step by introducing equipment free from harmful “permanent chemicals” that could be absorbed by firefighters over time, addressing additional toxic threats they face during their duty. Mayor Daniel Lurie expressed gratitude to firefighters at a press conference praising this move. The San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation reported that over 400 firefighters have succumbed to cancer since 2006.
This isn’t the first instance the SF Health Services Board had to step in regarding Blue Shield’s practices since it became the city’s health care provider. Earlier in June, Supervisor Dorsey and SF City Attorney David Chiu called on the insurance company to resolve a conflict that jeopardized care access for many, including city and state workers. A resolution was eventually reached in July.
