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Hillary Clinton’s fight for health care helped millions of kids. Meet 3 grown ones
The fight for quality, affordable health care for all Americans has been more than a century in the making—and Hillary Clinton has been on the frontlines for decades.
As first lady, she took that fight to the highest levels—including testifying before Congress as the head of the President’s Task Force on National Health Care Reform.
When Republicans—with help from their friends in the insurance lobby and health care industry—blocked efforts to expand health care, Hillary didn't give up. She worked with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to help pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides health insurance to eligible children from low-income families.
Today, the program insures more than 8 million children.
But access to lifesaving health care is about more than numbers. Here, three of the countless families with a personal stake in this issue share what Hillary’s fight for children’s health care meant to them.
Chad Harper, Washington State
Chad Harper is the first person in his family to graduate from high school, let alone college. Today, he’s a successful lawyer in Seattle—but had he not received health care coverage as a child, his life might have turned out differently.
Chad was raised by his grandmother in a small town in rural Pennsylvania. “My father passed away when I was really young, my mother wasn’t a part of my life,” he says.
When he was in kindergarten, he began having trouble moving his legs. Soon, he couldn’t move them at all.
“My grandmother worked at a factory that wasn’t union and had chipped away at her benefits for years,” he says. “I didn’t have health insurance.”
Chad at the hospital (left). Chad with his grandmother, (right).
Chad’s condition was treatable—fluid had accumulated in his hip—but the surgery was very expensive. Thanks to CHIP, his grandmother got the help she needed to cover his treatment. Without the program, they almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to afford it.
“We would have had to shell out thousands and thousands of dollars for these operations, and we would have been at the mercy of the charity of other people, or we would just have gone broke—or worse,” says Chad.
Chad with his grandmother in front of Hillary’s portrait in Washington
Years later, as a 17-year-old—not quite old enough to vote—Chad proudly supported Hillary in her 2008 presidential campaign.
“She’s been one of my political heroes over the years,” he says.
And as for this election? Chad is still fighting for the candidate who fought for kids like him.
“CHIP is one of those things that the secretary has done throughout her life that has had a direct and personal impact on my life,” he says.
Dorothy Sims and Joi Turner, Pennsylvania
It was Christmas Day 1994, and Dorothy Sims knew something was wrong. Her daughter, Joi, had been moping around the house with a fever. Dorothy decided to take her to the doctor.
It turned out Dorothy was right—something was very wrong. Joi was diagnosed with cancer and immediately began treatment. She was 2 years old.
“It happened so fast,” says Dorothy. “I was in denial for a while, but the first stage of healing was to accept that my child had cancer. It was the worst experience of my life.”
At the time, Dorothy had health insurance through her job, but it didn’t cover everything—and some of Joi’s medications cost as much as $900.
“I couldn’t afford it, so I let the bills pile up. My child had to be taken care of, on top of the stress of getting her well. ”
One day, the hospital where Joi was being treated got a special visitor: then–First Lady Hillary Clinton. “She met with the hospital staff, dignitaries, and the patients,” Dorothy remembers. “We felt somebody who was really warm and who was fierce.”
Hillary Clinton with Joi Turner, bottom left.
Dorothy was moved by the visit, so she wrote Hillary a letter after she left. To her surprise, Hillary responded, saying that she was praying for Joi.
What sticks out to Dorothy most is that after all these years, Hillary is still fighting the same fight she championed years ago. “She is still hanging in there; she is on that same road. It’s not a vision. She’s on that same trail to make it for the betterment of everybody.”
Today Joi is 25, fully recovered, and living a happy, healthy life.
Dorothy and Joi, twenty three years later.
Michelle and Connar Shope, Arkansas
Connar Shope was only a few months old when his grandmother, Michelle, noticed he was having trouble hearing. It turned out that Connar had a serious hearing condition—and it needed to be addressed quickly.
Michelle was shocked when they found out that Connar wasn’t insured under her husband’s health plan, even though they had legal custody. Treatment hinged on an expensive but critical surgery. Without it, Connar would have faced permanent hearing loss.
Connar when he was younger.
Thanks to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Shopes were able to get the help and resources they needed.
“Connar had two surgeries and access to special programs. Today he is a happy and healthy 12-year-old about to graduate sixth grade. His favorite colors are blue and red, and he’s almost 5’10”—he’s flourished!” says Michelle.
“We are working people, but I would not have been able to provide for my family without CHIP. I would have had to ask for help in other areas—it would have bankrupted my family. The CHIP program saved my family from that,” she says.
“Hillary is the only candidate who has done something that I can trace back to directly affecting my family,” says Michelle.
The fight for health care reform has been at the forefront of Hillary’s agenda for years, and she’s still fighting just as hard today as she was when she stopped by Joi’s bedside 22 years ago.
You can read more about her health care plan here.
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