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Column: Republicans in Congress, stop playing politics with our livelihoods
I’m going coast to coast on a bus trip this spring, telling my personal story with Courage for America. We’re calling on extreme members of the Republican House majority across the nation to sign a promise to protect the essential benefits Americans rely on. Our message to MAGA Republicans who are acting without concern for […]
Column: Here’s how you can still sign up for affordable health insurance under the ACA
If you don’t have health insurance — or just want to explore your options — go to healthcare.gov on or before Sunday to get covered with affordable health insurance now. Having and keeping good quality affordable health care is personal for me. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) saved my life. In 2017, I walked into […]
Column: Health care was also on the ballot, and health care won
In November, millions of voters in red, blue and purple states voted on the future of our health care directly on the ballot. And U.S. Sen. Warnock ran his re-election campaign and run-off on health care. Health care won decisively. Voters decided to expand Medicaid in South Dakota, meaning more than 40,000 low-income South Dakotans will finally have the […]
Lives hang in the balance as time runs out for action on health insurance
Five years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Yet I’m the lucky one. I could afford to get treatment. Too many people in America don’t have the health care they need, even today. The 2021 American Rescue Plan included subsidies to make health insurance more affordable than ever, resulting in a record-breaking […]
Laura Packard: I was blocked on Twitter by the president. But I’m still there, and he is not.
Three and a half years ago, former President Donald Trump blocked me on Twitter. After the Jan. 6 attack on our democracy, he has been deplatformed by Twitter itself and most other social media sites. Having worked with the Knight First Amendment Institute to get my account unblocked by the president, I recognize both the power and responsibility of […]
Laura Packard: The Affordable Care Act saved my life. What happens if it’s gone?
Three years ago I walked into a doctor’s office with a nagging cough, and walked out with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. I’m here, today, because the Affordable Care Act saved my life. But now it’s under attack, again. The care I received cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, money that most of us don’t […]
Laura Packard: Trump is trying to kill the legislation that saved my life
When I was healthy, I had the freedom to live anywhere in the country. And so I did. Today, my cancer diagnosis means my first priority has to be staying alive — so now, I am a Coloradan. I was fortunate enough to be able to move to Denver earlier this year. It’s a beautiful […]