From Cancer to Congress: Laura Packard’s Fight for Healthcare

When Laura Packard first joined the fight for affordable, accessible healthcare, she never expected she’d end up in the trenches herself, speaking out for her own survival.

But that’s exactly what happened. Seven years after the award-winning communications strategist had led an Arkansas campaign pushing Congress to pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA), that same law “came around and saved my life,” Packard says.

The ACA, a landmark healthcare reform law designed to expand insurance coverage and access to care, was passed in 2010 – a time when, Packard says, her personal experience with the medical system was very limited. “I was the kind of person that had only been to the hospital when I broke my arm as a kid,” she recalls.

In 2017, all of that changed, when Packard noticed a nagging cough that appeared out of the blue. “The first time [I visited the doctor], they diagnosed me with pneumonia and gave me antibiotics, and I felt better – but [the illness] never fully went away,” she explains. “So when I went back, that’s when I realized that it wasn’t just pneumonia, but I also had cancer all over my lungs.”

In April of that year, Packard was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer that attacks the lymphatic system. “It had spread everywhere, but I didn’t have a whole lot of symptoms besides the cough, so I was really stunned when I was diagnosed,” she says. “But when you get sick, if you want a good outcome, it’s not a good option to opt out of the medical system. So I became an educated patient very quickly.”

Almost immediately, Packard found her journey to be fraught with formidable challenges. While her healthcare was largely insured through the ACA – which guaranteed her affordable coverage while she was self-employed, and with a cancer diagnosis – the House of Representatives was actively pushing to repeal the ACA, the very policy keeping Packard alive.

“In fact, the day after my first chemotherapy appointment [in May 2017], the House voted to repeal the ACA,” Packard remembers. “And then they held the party to celebrate – while I was on my couch after chemo, trying not to die.

“I took that very personally,” she says. 

Fighting on Two Fronts

Now, Packard found herself waging twin wars, each with a powerful purpose – one against the aggressive cancer ravaging her body, and one against the lawmakers seemingly intent on dismantling her care.

“I became very outspoken that year, sharing my story with my former U.S. senator and others, making sure people knew what was at stake,” she says. 

Without the protections of the ACA, Packard would have lost access to life-saving treatments, because she was both self-employed and battling cancer – a diagnosis insurers would have previously excluded from coverage as a “pre-existing condition.” 

“The ACA is kind of an insurer of last resort for everybody, because if you lose your job, you may not be able to afford COBRA, or maybe you get a new job that doesn’t provide health insurance. Or maybe you’re retired, but you’re not 65 yet, so you don’t have access to Medicare,” Packard says. “All of these people and stories were falling through the cracks before the ACA, because insurers could decide whether they wanted your business or not.” 

In Packard’s case, of course, “they would certainly not want me as a customer, because I’m a cancer survivor for life – so I’m a risk,” she points out. “But if insurers only get to cherry-pick the very healthiest people, they won’t choose the people who really need the health insurance.”

From Survivor to Spokeswoman

Despite the heavy toll of her dual battles, Packard emerged victorious, as efforts to repeal the ACA ultimately failed and her cancer achieved remission in spring 2018.

But Packard knew her fight was far from over. It was time to turn her energy outward, teaching others in the trenches how to dig out from a needlessly onerous system. The same year Packard achieved remission, she launched her nonprofit Health Care Voices, an independent, grassroots group of people with serious medical conditions, organizing across the country to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all. 

“When I was diagnosed and thrust into the spotlight, I already had the expertise somewhat to deal with that [through my communications background],” Packard points out. “But for a lot of people sharing their stories for the first time, they don’t know how to talk to a reporter, how to write an op-ed, or how to talk at a press conference or lobby their legislator. So Health Care Voices is a nonprofit providing those types of trainings, free of charge.”

As part of her nonprofit, Packard hosts a weekly show and podcast called “Care Talk,” where experts answer questions about healthcare and health insurance. “It feels like when you or someone you love gets a terrible diagnosis, you’re thrown into a system that does not work well, and you could really use some help figuring out how to make it work better for you,” Packard says. “So I’m trying to be the resource that I could have used at the time [of my cancer].”

A Call to Action

For others aspiring to advocacy work, Packard urges that there’s no better time to join the charge. With the new H.R. 1 Bill signed into law in July 2025 – planning deep cuts to Medicaid and allowing ACA tax credits to expire – millions of Americans again risk losing affordable healthcare coverage in the months and years ahead.

Packard’s advice to fledgling activists is to use 5Calls.org, a civic action tool that helps constituents easily contact their representatives. “[The 5Calls scripts] have really great talking points and recommendations if you’re nervous and you want to know how to get started,” she says. “So they talk you through the things that you should say, and then you just call up your U.S. senator or U.S. representative – or if this is something about your state, like state Medicaid cuts, you would talk to your state legislator and maybe even your governor’s office.”

Though the landscape remains daunting, Packard reminds fellow advocates to stay hopeful, as the expected cuts will not take effect immediately. Constituents still have time to convince lawmakers to stop the cuts to Medicaid and extend tax credits for the ACA.

“We have lost some fights, and it’s really bad – but the battles are not over,” Packard. emphasizes. “We need to keep fighting so that we can have better healthcare in the future.” 

And for Packard, true victory in this war means that no one has to fight for both their healthcare and their life.

For more information and resources, visit healthcarevoices.org and 5calls.org. 

Photo credit: Bert Shepherd