Next To You
By Mary Hough - Mar 23, 2011 12:12:18 PM ET
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Organizing for America | BarackObama.com | Mary Hough's blog: Next To You
Someone you know has been helped by health reform. In the year since the President signed the Affordable Care Act into law, millions of Americans have benefited from the reforms it introduced.

Today, Vice President Joe Biden wrote to supporters to share the story of one Minnesota family whose two-year-old son now has a brighter future thanks to health reform. Read the Vice President’s message below and then take the Health Reform Checkup to find out how the Affordable Care Act has helped those around you.

I want to tell you about a family in Minnesota.

Justin and Kari live in Brooklyn Park, right outside of Minneapolis. They're parents to three children. Their three-year-old, William, was born with a genetic disorder called tuberous sclerosis complex.

For the rest of his life, William will wrestle with tumors in his brain, his heart, his kidneys, his skin, and possibly other major organs. He must take medication to control seizures and faces the threat of kidney disease.

What Justin and Kari want for William is a future. And because of health reform, that's what he'll have.

Today, insurance companies are no longer able to discriminate against William because of the condition he's dealt with since birth. Now, Justin and Kari know they'll be able to get the kind of care that William needs—today and into the future.

Their story isn't unique, but it's one of many that need to be told. We all know people whose lives have been changed because of the Affordable Care Act, even if we don't realize it. So we've found a way to show exactly how reform is working for all of us—for our parents, our siblings, our kids, us.

Will you take a minute to take our Health Reform Checkup and let the people you love know how reform is working for them?

Before the Affordable Care Act, Justin and Kari weren't sure about the future. They worried that they'd never be able to find coverage for William again if Justin lost his job. They worried about the life that William would lead—whether he'd ever be able to work or support a family.

Not anymore. William's condition isn't going away, but he'll always be able to get care. The Affordable Care Act is one year old today, and it has already changed William's life—and this country—for good.

Today, there are families who feel better about the future than they did a year ago. They've found some security, some relief. And these are people we know. They're our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends, our families—the people next to us everyday.

On the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, I think we have a duty to discuss how reform is already working.

Watch Justin and Kari tell their story, and take a moment to learn how health reform is changing the lives of those you know.

A year ago, I stood next to the President as he signed health reform into law—and we have you to thank for making that possible

Yours,

Joe