America deserves care that doesn’t disappear with a job.

Two and a half years ago, my wife Marlene had a slip and fall on a patch of ice during her lunch break while in training for a new job.

It was a simple accident with serious consequences: a broken wrist which required urgent surgery – one of those everyday mishaps that can happen to anyone during a Michigan winter.

Our new health insurance hadn’t kicked in yet, so I was writing a check for $6,000 at 6am on a Monday morning for a surgery that couldn’t wait. All told, we had to fork over $14,000 out of pocket.

One fall can wipe out your savings in the blink of an eye. Imagine if it had been a car accident, a cancer diagnosis, or worse?

That’s the price of being human in a country where your health is someone else’s business model.

There is clearly something wrong with this system.

We’ve let people go bankrupt over hospital visits. We’ve taught families to fear the mailbox. We force people to stay in jobs that aren’t right for them for fear of losing their healthcare.

I’m running for Congress to build a future where healthcare is a human right, not a budgeting decision for a small business trying to survive. If you agree that tying healthcare to employment is insane, then donate to our campaign and help me fight for something better.

When you talk about single payer healthcare, there are always a few naysayers who say it can’t be done. Not in America. Our country is “too big” and it’s “too complicated.”

I say to hell with that.

I believe Americans are smart enough and creative enough and resilient enough to figure out how to solve this problem that every other developed country (and many developing countries) have already solved.

Imagine what it would do for your life – your stress and your family’s finances – to know that your healthcare is yours no matter what. Where changing jobs doesn’t mean losing coverage. Where your zip code doesn’t determine the quality of your care.

And where rural hospitals thrive, and no one puts off treatment because of cost.

No more network battles. No more predatory deductibles. No more fear.

In our elections we talk a lot about defending democracy. About defending from the onslaught of MAGA attacks. 

But democracy is not just a shield, it is a tool, and we need to use it.

We can’t just talk about stopping Trump. That’s not enough.

If we are going to claw our way out of this moment and build something that lasts, we need to elect representatives who are ready with ideas.

Leaders who see past the next crisis. Who carry a vision of what this country could be, not just what it has been forced to become.

When we win back power – and we WILL take back the majority – we will have a choice to make. Patch the same broken systems? Or get to work laying the foundation for something better?

Universal healthcare is not a dream. It is a promise waiting to be kept.

That’s the choice in this election. That’s what I am here to do.

That is the Michigan I’m fighting for. If it’s the future you want too, I hope you’ll pitch in today. Every donation helps us build the kind of campaign that makes people believe we can build again.

Let’s get to work,

Wayne Stiles

Democrat for Congress