Victoria Kennedy endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton in an op-ed published Thursday, touting the candidate’s long-time commitment to comprehensive healthcare reform.
She said in a post published on MassLive titled “Hillary Clinton will build on the Successes of Affordable Care Act” that she’s seen firsthand how dedicated Clinton is to improving Americans’ lives and expanding opportunities for people.
{mosads}Kennedy, widow of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), wrote that Clinton served as the head of a task force on comprehensive healthcare reform at the dawn of Bill Clinton’s presidential administration in 1993. At the time, Kennedy’s husband was a strong advocate for the issue.
“Teddy told me how much he admired Hillary’s tenacity and willingness to tackle such a difficult but necessary issue in the face of such strong political opposition to change. Though the effort at that time for comprehensive change was ultimately unsuccessful, the issue had been joined and it would not go away,” she wrote.
She also wrote about Clinton’s efforts to expand health insurance to children.
Even after being chosen to become secretary of state, Clinton “remained unwavering in her support for passage of the [Affordable Care Act],” Kennedy wrote.
“I was proud to stand at President Obama’s side as he signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Because of the hard work of so many, including Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy, nearly 20 million more people are now insured,” she wrote.
In the piece, Kennedy talked about the success of the Affordable Care Act, though she noted that change has not been easy. Her husband, she wrote, said healthcare was “the cause of his life.” He was very much in support of the reform law.
“In that spirit, I stand with Hillary Clinton and her desire to strengthen and improve this landmark legislation and not dismantle it. Every election is about the future, and this election is no exception,” she wrote.
“We don’t need to open up old wounds to refight health care reform. It’s time to move forward. We need a 45th President who will continue to fight for the Affordable Care Act and make it even better.”