Norma Wilcox and Forest Harlan are our newest unsung heroes of healthcare reform! Get to know them! This project of HEAL California, highlights the hard work and dedication of individuals who are working – often in the background – to win Medicare-for-All in California and the nation.
Pictured above: Chuck Greenwood, Norma Wilcox, Forest Harlan, Sue Gallagher
The 1980’s
Norma Wilcox & Forest Harlan met while living and working in San Francisco during the 1980s. Norma was an RN in rehabilitation nursing and Forest worked at a health food store. Forest often found himself advising uninsured people on dietary supplements.
Introduced by mutual friends in 1988, they discovered they had a lot in common, especially their concerns about people they met through work who lacked health care. In Norma’s case, she became acutely aware of how insurance coverage determined the quality of care her patients received. If they had good plans, their rehab benefits were better than patients whose coverage often ended before it was optimal.
Their concern led them, especially Forest, to get involved in the 1994 initiative for a single payer healthcare system, Proposition 186. Although it was defeated, Prop 186 made them realize that a real solution existed that would help the people they met through work.
Healthcare Becomes Personal
Then their concerns about health care got personal. In 2001, Norma was in a serious car accident that left her with debilitating neck and shoulder injuries, and legal bills. At the same time, during the tech downturn, Forest’s work prospects tightened. To make matters worse, Forest was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in 2003.
At that time, Norma had employer-provided health insurance and Forest had an individual policy. But, when Norma had to leave her job as a nurse as a result of her accident, her only real option was COBRA.
COBRA was very expensive but at least it offered the same coverage as her employer’s plan, a factor that was very important to Norma as she was still in treatment for her accident. Unfortunately, besides being expensive, COBRA is temporary. It’s only available for 18 months. When her COBRA coverage ran out, Norma was still in rehab from the accident. She had to apply for an individual plan. Predictably she was denied coverage due to her pre-existing condition, since all this took place years before the Affordable Care Act was passed.
The accumulating financial strain and loss of work took a toll. “At the time of my accident, we had no debt, and we had some savings,” Norma said. “But, after that and Forest’s illness, we had no savings. We were close to bankruptcy and homelessness. We really got to see how a person could go from being a productive citizen to one who was pretty much on the verge of destitution.”
Chico, Butte County
After much discussion, they decided to lower their expenses by moving to Chico. It was this move that initiated their full immersion in the quest for a single payer healthcare system. They got involved in the Butte County Health Care Coalition’s work to pass SB 840 in 2006. SB 840 was a single payer bill that was passed by the California Senate and Assembly – not once but twice – only to be vetoed by then-Governor Schwarzenegger.
They were not discouraged. Instead, they took the long view. Even if Single-Payer/Medicare for All failed to be enacted until long after they were gone, Norma and Forest were determined to do their part to advance the movement. They believed then and now that single payer is a winnable struggle, like the battle for civil rights, which took more than a single lifetime to win.
We May Not Be Around For This
“It may be 20 or 30 years from now, and we may not be around for this,” Forest acknowledged in a recent interview. “But I think all these movements are built on the backs of people who realize they may never see the results. We may, in fact, be gone before success is achieved. But it doesn’t make it any less valuable to pursue a goal which you know is the right goal and one that’s a manifestation of what this society should be doing to provide for the general welfare of the population.”
They are deeply involved with the Butte County Health Care Coalition and Health Care for All – California, promoting Medicare for All. In addition, Forest is involved with the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) and was elected to be a delegate in the California Democratic Party, working from the inside to change the party.
Medicare: Security at Last
Now that they qualify for Medicare, Norma and Forest have experienced the security of a healthcare system in which they and their physicians make their treatment decisions (rather than insurance company employees). They’ve enjoyed the simplicity of a system with only one payer, the government.
“Most single payer supporters are people who not only have experienced an improvement in healthcare with Medicare, but they’ve also come from professions where they help others,” Forest said. “Ex-ministers, former schoolteachers, nurses, social workers are all heavily represented within the movement, both statewide and nationwide.”
For a long time, Medicare for All advocates didn’t see a lot of activism from younger people, though recently that’s changed, according to Forest.
“Younger people tend to not be thinking that far down the road and tend to not be as concerned about health and mortality,” Forest said. “They tend to focus on establishing careers and families when they’re young. I just don’t think that healthcare is at the top of their list. Now I would say, politically, that has changed quite a bit with the candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders. He hit a really strong note with young people, and now in our conversations with Millennials, it seems like for them, it’s a no-brainer. There’s no kind of resistance to the argument that we should have it.”
Doing Our Part For a Better Future
Moving forward, Norma and Forest agree that several challenges remain as the next California legislative session looms. This includes resistance to single payer within the Democratic Party leadership and the fact that the pharmaceutical industry holds incredible sway with individual legislators. Another major obstacle is the media’s inaccurate portrayal of SB 562, the Healthy California Act, which was introduced in 2016.
But in spite of all the challenges – Big Pharma, reluctant Democrats and a sometimes myopic media – Norma and Forest refuse to be discouraged.
“We’re actually making headway. The American public is beginning to see the threats to even the extremely modest reforms of the Affordable Care Act,” Forest said.
“Bernie Sanders has made Medicare of for All a household name,” Norma said. “Now people know what it is, and they understand it and want it. When Bernie Sanders was here at our university, there were many, many young people in high school and college who were coming to the rallies. If it doesn’t happen in my lifetime, other people will be stepping forward. And also, sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. With Trump, things are definitely getting worse. Maybe that’s just part of what’s happening. Somebody will come forward in 2020, when the public will really be ready to support them, and then we’ll have a major shift.”
Forest once again brought up the historical perspective, referring to the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the EPA, and the Civil Rights Act.
“I think sometimes these issues appear to be either un-winnable or even losing ground,” he said. “But in actuality, beneath the surface the movement is moving forward. And suddenly, it’s there.” Both Forest and Norma remain optimistic that Medicare for All will become a reality. And, even if they aren’t around to see it, they are happy to know they are doing their part to make it happen.
—
HEAL California is an independent news and information hub focused on the California Medicare for All movement. We feature non-partisan news, views, podcasts and videos that highlight the continuing failures of our broken healthcare system and elevate the voices of advocates and organizations fighting for change.
Check out our Media page for experts and additional resources including links to legislation, studies, and more.
Keep up with the California Medicare for All movement –
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe –
