“Some years ago, I was a student at the University of Maine, studying secondary English education. I wanted to ‘do something,’ take on a career that would let me truly make a difference in the world. Midway through my education, I was diagnosed with an incurable illness. It would require medication and treatment for the rest of my life, or would result in a slow, painful death. The immediate impact was, I was going to need health care, and lots of it.

“There were hoops to jump through for the specialists I needed. There were problems getting the insurance I had been buying through my employer to pay. There were problems with basic access—waits of months on end for practitioners I could see who actually took my benefits.

“Then the Affordable Care Act passed.

“There was suddenly another path forward. Being employed was not the difference between life and death anymore. A whole world of opportunity that I thought was gone forever was opened back up to me. As long as the Affordable Care Act stays on the books, this condition will never stop me from getting a job, and in just two years if I change jobs, I'll have choices to get coverage that's affordable and won't stop paying once I hit some arbitrary cap. I won't give that up.

“Supporting the President this election cycle is about more than left versus right, or taxes, or the cost of gas—it's a life-or-death decision, and I’m backing the man who gave me back my life.”

—Jo, Arizona

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