About two dozen people gathered Tuesday night on the Denton Square for a candlelight vigil to honor people who died in the past year because they didn’t have health insurance.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Mike and Resa Harrison participate in a health care vigil Tuesday night on the downtown Denton Square.

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One recent study — conducted at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance and published by the American Journal of Public Health in September — found that nearly 45,000 Americans died each year because of a lack of insurance to help pay for care.

Organized by MoveOn.org, the vigil was part of about 200 other vigils nationwide, pushing for a public option in health care reform.

“If we lose the public option, then we lose the bargaining power we need with the insurance companies to make it affordable,” said Kathie Lagerblad, organizer of Denton’s vigil.

Lagerblad has been a member of MoveOn for several years, she said, and became its Denton County Council coordinator two months ago.

The political action committee has 5 million members nationwide, according to its Web site, and was started by two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who wanted Congress to censure President Bill Clinton in 1998 and move on to more important public issues.

Similarly, local participants in Tuesday’s vigil expressed frustration that U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, both Republicans from Texas, as well as U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, have obstructed many facets of health insurance reform, particularly the public option.

Denton lawyer Deborah Boone said that if the federal government is going to require everyone to purchase health insurance — as state governments require everyone to buy auto insurance — the federal government has a duty to see that it’s affordable.

It concerns her that even though her job pays well, she can afford health insurance only through her employer.

“As it stands now, I couldn’t afford the premiums charged by any of the private health insurance companies,” Boone said.

Dawson Tunnell, a resident and activist with Peace Action Denton, is sharing some of his retirement income with his daughter, who has colon cancer and, as a result, must work less during treatment. She’s worried her insurance premiums will skyrocket, or the company will cancel her policy altogether, he said.

“Giving my help is not my major concern,” Tunnell said. “My major concern is about the health care she will have, and how long for the new system to take effect. For me, this is a very personal fight.”

Resident Evelyn Black, who opened her umbrella when rain began drizzling on the gathering, wondered if fear drives the thinking of those who don’t want insurance reform.

“Young people come up to me and ask: ‘What is it with your generation?’” Black said, and turning to other retirees in the crowd, added, “We need to talk to our friends.”

One participant said he has already visited with co-workers and couldn’t understand why they were so reluctant to see reform.

Lagerblad offered an explanation. “They don’t realize they are only an illness or job loss away from having the same problem,” she said.

As people blew out their candles and got ready to leave, Lagerblad passed out fliers with contact information for Texas representatives and encouraged everyone to make their voices heard.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .