I was stunned to read this morning, on the PNHP blog, that Nick Skala, a former health policy analyst for that organization and an uncompromising single-payer advocate, died in his Chicago home this past weekend. He was just 27 years old.

The brief announcement can be read here.

In June, Skala was invited to speak with leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and provoked their wrath, as well as that of Darcy Burner — head of a nonprofit group trying to support and unify the caucus — with a presentation concluding that public option is a futile strategy. The bad blood exemplified by that encounter prompted me to write this post, which contains links to Skala’s presentation, a video interview with him, and a flame war between Skala and Burner on DKos.

This is just a horrific loss regardless of one’s stand on these issues. It is also the second great loss to the SP community in as many weeks, coming on the heels of the death of Marilyn Clement, founder of Healthcare Now! just a few days after her group co-spearheaded the Medicare Birthday events in Washington. You can read about her extraordinary life of activism here.