Just a few minutes ago, it happened again. I am on my way to a speaking gig at the Chautauqua Institution. As my cab speeds to JFK, I think, Mom will want to know that I am flying; let me give her a quick call.

I cant call her anymore. After seven years of a heroic battle with stage four metastatic lung cancer, she died on April 25, two weeks after her 80th birthday. Early in her diagnosis, she was given six months to live. But because of the excellent medical care she received through the Affordable Care Act, she lived for seven years beyond her diagnosis.

Last Tuesday, I went to Washington and stood outside of Sen. Mitch McConnells office to join my voice with a chorus of faith leaders demanding that the Affordable Care Act not be repealed. Because someone elses mom needs cancer medicine. Someone elses dad has diabetes. Someones baby will die without health care.