The freedom to be healthy means being able to access the care and medications we need without worrying or sacrificing other parts of our lives. For people with diabetes, who need insulin to make it through the day alive, that freedom is a daily struggle. Though insulin costs just a few dollars to make, it has been sold for more than $300 per vial.

Kristen Whitney Daniels, who serves as the associate director of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood, New York, is also a Type 1 diabetic and a leader with T1 International's federal working group, advocating for affordable and equitable access to insulin. She knows firsthand what it’s like to have to ration insulin—and how just health care policies can transform people’s everyday lives.

“The American public in general is facing these high costs that are forcing them to make decisions between food, going to college, getting a car, what jobs to work…” Daniels says. “I'm really passionate about making sure that people have the freedom to be healthy.”

Health care advocates like Daniels know that movements are sustained by celebrating successes like the Affordable Care Act, which NETWORK helped to pass, and the recent cap on insulin costs for seniors instituted by the Inflation Reduction Act, led by the Biden administration. But Daniels explains that successes aren’t just winning on policy—they also include bringing new people to the table and spreading the message in new ways.

Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about advocating for our freedom to be healthy.

Also: The nuns—and friends—are going back on the bus this year! Daniels will be joining NETWORK as a rider on the 2024 Nuns on the Bus & Friends Vote Our Future tour this fall. Learn more here at nunsonthebus.org.

Additional Resources:

The Inflation Reduction Act’s insulin cost caps
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2022/medicare-budget-proposal.html

Kristen Whitney Daniels
https://cssjfed.org/about-us/staff-and-leadership/

T1 International Federal Working Group
https://www.t1international.com/FWG/

Nuns On the Bus & Friends
http://nunsonthebus.org/