I’m 16 Years Old. And I Need You to Vote on November 6th.

Written for Smart Girls by Olivia Hatcher a 16-year-old health care advocate from Baltimore, Maryland. She is a member of Little Lobbyists and Health Care Voter.

My name is Olivia Hatcher. I am sixteen years old and a Sophomore at Mercy High School in Baltimore, Maryland. And if you are eighteen years old or older, I need you to vote for our health care in the midterm elections.

For the past few years, Congress and the Administration have been obsessed with threatening health care, education, and civil rights for people with disabilities and complex medical needs like my little brother, Simon. And all the while, families like mine have been advocating to protect our loved ones. We’re proud supporters of the Health Care Voter (@healthcarevoter) campaign and members of Little Lobbyists, a group of families who advocate on behalf of their kids with complex medical needs and disabilities.

This past year, we’ve been busy. We’re called “lobbyists,” but we’re just families visiting legislators to share our stories and photos of kids like my brother Simon from all over the United States. We’re working to educate lawmakers so they understand whose lives are impacted by the laws they create and the votes they take.

I have been telling my lawmakers that my little brother is the bravest kid I know. Like most twelve-year-olds, Simon loves to play outside and swim at the beach. He spreads happiness everywhere he goes. But Simon also has cognitive and physical disabilities, and several pre-existing conditions, including: hydrocephalus, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, optic nerve atrophy, hearing loss, and a rare genetic disorder. He’s had several hospital stays and countless doctors appointments. He takes six different medications three times a day to prevent his life-threatening seizures.

As his big sister, I need to make sure our politicians are working to protect him — not voting for policies that threaten his access to health care.

You might be thinking — I’m just a teenager, what do I know?

I know that in 2020, teenagers like me will be old enough to vote — and I know that millions of teenagers who are over eighteen are mobilizing to vote in this election right now.

Teenagers in my generation have already proven themselves to be activists. We really do care about a lot of things, like: not getting shot in school, having access to affordable higher education, and protecting our environment. We know diversity is important, and we want social equity for people of all sexes, races, backgrounds, and abilities. We believe health care is human right.

I was surprised to learn that here in the United States, health care isn’t guaranteed. An accident or an illness can happen to anyone, anytime.

I’m a pretty good example of this: When I was ten, I was playing outside and having fun like a normal kid — when I tripped and fell on a curb causing my spleen to shatter and my liver to tear.

Fortunately — after multiple surgeries and a long hospital stay — today, I’m doing great. But I still need to take medication to support my immune system, which means I have a “pre-existing condition.”

After my surgeries, I learned medical expenses can add up to ridiculously high prices that can be impossible to pay without assistance from insurance. And I learned that until recently, people could go bankrupt or even die because they couldn’t get health insurance due to pre-existing conditions and lifetime caps on care.

So I’m grateful that eight years ago, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, protecting the lives of more than 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. Lives like mine, and lives like my brother’s.

But now, because of threats to the Affordable Care Act, my family is worried that in the future insurers could deny us the health care coverage we need to simply survive.

Without his medicine, my brother Simon will die. Without my medication, I might too. And without our insurance, I don’t know if our family could afford our medications, which cost thousands of dollars per month — not to mention the additional health care, medical equipment, and therapy Simon needs.

I love my brother, and countless other teenagers like me love family members with complex medical needs and disabilities.

So, if you are old enough to vote in this election, I need you to vote for candidates who defend people with pre-existing conditions.

I won’t let our government threaten to take away people’s health care. And I will never stop defending my brother and his rights.

So please: on November 6th, vote. Our health care is on the line, and I need you to help us defend it.

Click to learn more about Little Lobbyists and Health Care Voter.