Mayor Daniel Lurie joined San Francisco firefighters and other elected officials on the steps of City Hall on Friday to demand that Blue Shield of California cover cancer treatment that has been denied to retired firefighter Ken Jones, a 17-year veteran of the force.
“You all always have our back, and we’re always going to have your back, especially when it comes to your health care,” Lurie told the crowd of over 50 people, including many firefighters and health practitioners.
Jones was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer about a year ago. In early December, his doctor — a leading oncologist at UCSF — recommended a new treatment.
But his insurance company, Blue Shield, denied the request, claiming that the plan did not meet standard oncology guidelines, according to Helen Horvath, Jones’ wife. Jones, whose health has deteriorated and who was undergoing treatment, was not at the rally.
Jones is not the only firefighter whose care was denied: Supervisor Matt Dorsey said at today’s rally that he has “since been made aware of three other firefighters facing cancer in which their treatment was initially denied or delayed by Blue Shield.”
“In two of those cases, treatment was finally approved, but only after extraordinary advocacy,” he said.
The denials have led some elected officials to question the city’s contract with Blue Shield. Last year, the city changed healthcare providers for some public workers from UnitedHealthcare to Blue Shield, affecting some 5,000 employees and retirees, Dorsey said.
“Given what we have seen play out over the last year, including but not limited to these denials, we are starting to regret that decision,” Dorsey said.
Jones’ family first spoke out about his denial of care last Thursday. The next day, on Jan. 9, Blue Shield approved a new treatment plan — but not the one Jones’ doctor recommended.
Horvath said the modified plan covers a different chemotherapy medication and doesn’t include immunotherapy, which was recommended by Jones’ doctor.
Horvath said the delay in care has impacted Jones’ health. “While we waited, and the oncologist and his team tried in vain to get through Blue Shield’s appeals process, Ken’s condition deteriorated,” she said.
“Delays in treatment are not paperwork issues,” said Sam Gebler, president of Local 798, the firefighters’ labor union, speaking at the rally. “They are life and death decisions. When insurance companies deny cancer care to firefighters, it sends a chilling message that once your service ends, once you hang up your gear, you are expendable.”
Adam Wood, vice-president of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation, said one retired San Francisco firefighter died in December 2025 after a two-month delay in his cancer treatment. The foundation is now reaching out to other organizations to see if other retirees have also been experiencing denials in treatment.
“I’m sure this is not a problem that’s specific for firefighters,” Wood said. “I think we just noticed it first.”
Firefighters have a higher risk of being diagnosed with and dying from cancer. In California, a legal presumption automatically links firefighters’ cancer to their job.
Blue Shield did not respond to questions on Jones’ case, or any of the other firefighters who were denied coverage.
“For Medicare members, health plans must follow medical policy established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” the company wrote in a statement to Mission Local.
Jones’ doctor is Matthew Gubens, a world-renowned expert in lung cancer working at UCSF. Horvath said he has a deep understanding of innovative cancer treatments and knows Jones’ specific situation. “He’s the right person to make treatment decisions, not an insurance company.”
Shannon Stabile, a retired paramedic, said hearing the speeches at the rally was quite rough. Her wife, retired battalion chief Denise Newman, served 28 years in the San Francisco Fire Department and was recently diagnosed with stage three endometrial cancer.
Stabile said her wife has two insurance providers, Workman’s Comp and Blue Shield. She hoped at least one of them would cover treatment.
“It’s frightening to think you pay thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars into this system, and the one time you need it, it’s not there for you,” Stabile said.
The firefighters’ union has vowed to continue pressing for coverage.
“Firefighters don’t get to deny calls. We don’t get to walk away when things get hard. Neither should insurance companies that promise to fix the problem and profit from our service,” said Gebler with Local 798.
“We will stand with our brother and we will fight until this is fixed, not just for him, but for every firefighter who may face this nightmare in the future.”