It turns out that the real life Norma Rae, Crystal Lee Sutton, had been battling health insurance companies for adequate treatment for her cancer. She was struggling to the end.
For those of you have not seen the film, Norma Rae is a tale about a "southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory" (IMDB). It was based on the all-too-true struggles of Crystal, who has now died.
Read more here:
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/09/12/norma-rae-dead-health-insurer/Crystal Lee Sutton, 1941 - 2009, RIP