My wife, Raven, is currently battling breast cancer, and our fight has taken an even more distressing turn. Our insurer, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, has denied coverage for her vital treatment, Perjeta (pertuzumab). Despite the drug being FDA-approved for this exact regimen, being prescribed by her oncologist, and all clinical trials demonstrating its benefits, Blue Cross Blue Shield labels it as "investigational" with "unknown benefits" when used following surgery if it has been used before surgery. We are now faced with the unbearable choice between financial ruin or losing access to this essential treatment.

This fight is not only ours. It represents the struggle of many Americans caught in the tug of war between insurance companies and health care providers. We urgently demand that the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) immediately approve coverage for Perjeta for both pre-surgery and post-surgery phases of breast cancer treatment in all of their affiliate companies across the U.S. This drug is fully FDA-approved and is regularly prescribed by licensed oncologists, following all industry clinical guidelines and standard of care protocols for the most comprehensive and effective treatment outcomes. To deny coverage of it is to place insurance firms in the driver's seat of medical decisions, pushing the doctors and patients themselves into the back.

Against this backdrop, we call not only for the immediate coverage of Perjeta, but for systemic reform. Patients deserve to receive the care they need without such interference from their insurance companies. The time has come for us to push for better healthcare in America, for my wife Raven, and for the many other patients who face the same struggles. Please sign our petition to demand Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to approve coverage for the cancer drug, Perjeta, and join us in striving for comprehensive healthcare reform.