When I was running for Congress back in 2006, I met Anne-Marie Morse. She had a harrowing story to tell.

Her daughter Michelle was diagnosed with cancer during her senior year at Plymouth State. Her doctors said that Michelle would have to leave school to get treatment. But in the era before Obamacare, young people at that age could only be covered on their parents’ health insurance if they were full-time college students. And if Michelle was no longer covered by her parents’ policy, she would be deemed as having a pre-existing condition and would be denied new health insurance. No college meant no coverage.

The family couldn’t afford treatment without insurance, so Michelle chose to stay in school. She bravely finished her studies while being treated and was even able to graduate. But shortly after, she died.

Anne-Marie knew that what had happened to her daughter and her family was wrong. She was a teacher with no experience in politics, but she began a one-woman crusade. She tirelessly lobbied the state Legislature to pass Michelle’s Law, ensuring that seriously ill college students could stay on their parents’ health insurance policies even if they left school.

This was important, a real victory for New Hampshire families, but as a state law it had no effect elsewhere. So, I promised Anne-Marie that if I got to Congress we’d work together to take Michelle’s Law national. And we did. It was the first piece of legislation I introduced. We crafted the bill, lobbied other members of Congress from both parties, and gained support from the medical community. Michelle’s Law was passed and signed into law by President Bush.

But the story doesn’t end there. Soon after, Congress began to put together the Affordable Care Act. Michelle’s Law became the basis for the provision that allows young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance policies all the way up to age 26. A 2016 assessment by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found over 6 million Americans had health insurance coverage because of that rule. Because of Michelle and Anne-Marie.

Just the other day, I was speaking to a woman in Concord and told her this story. There was a pause and she said, “Well, I guess I owe you a great thanks. My grandson is 25 and a while ago he suffered a stroke and had to be hospitalized. He’s on his parents’ insurance policy. That saved his life.”

That is Michelle’s gift to us all. And that is how real change happens.

I’m not saying it’s easy. When the ACA came up for a vote in Congress, I knew that it was controversial. I knew it was far from perfect, but it was a start. Many didn’t yet see it the way they do now: a lifesaver, as well as a foundation for reforming our health insurance system. But I knew that not only was Anne-Marie Morse counting on me, but that voting for the ACA was the right thing to do for all the people I represented, even if it cost me an election. I voted for the new law. I lost my next election. I figured I was sent to Congress to make change and do the right thing. And that’s what I did.

And that’s why when people say that politics are too broken, or our problems are too big, or that anything less than broad, sweeping change doesn’t matter, I tell them: don’t believe it. I’ve seen it, and I’ve done it. Yes, politics is pretty badly broken, but by bringing people with different political ideas together, we can still get things done. Yes, our problems are real and daunting, but we are also seeing a wave of grassroots energy that has moved what was once thought radical to mainstream. That wave creates the space to tackle global warming, systemic racism, our health crisis, an aging population, and our culture of division. With engaged citizens, we can transform our public education system and ensure equal opportunity for all our students. I believe we need big solutions to big problems. But big solutions are towers that are built brick by brick.

That is always the approach that I have taken to public service. Build big change from the ground up.

Early in my career, As an assistant attorney general, I prosecuted the first case in the state that sent polluters to jail. Today, we have a legal and political culture that values clean air and water, but we still need to advance New Hampshire’s pursuit of energy efficiency, renewables, and clean transportation.

As a community leader, I led the effort to transform the old, broken-down Capitol Theater into the Capitol Center for the Arts, the spark for a revitalized downtown Concord. Today, the Concord Chamber of Commerce estimates that the arts and culture economy brings $31.2 million annually and 950 jobs to the Capitol region. Looking forward, we need more creative economic solutions like this to support our struggling small businesses and our battered not-for profits.

As your congressman, I created the Northern Border Commission, a federal-state partnership that’s invested more than 40 million dollars to boost the economy of the North Country. These are foundational investments in our state. Looking forward, we need to leverage intelligent, strategic investments into ongoing economic opportunity. I’m mindful that all those coping with job losses and dislocation are counting on policymakers for a living wage, affordable work force housing, and support for those who work so hard for all of us, whether on farms, in factories, in stores and restaurants, in our schools, on the front lines, in social services, or in our state government.

And of course, perhaps what I am most proud of is passing Michelle’s Law. It shows how building to a big, bold goal like providing health care to everyone can happen through dedicated step-by-step work. Every single American, and every citizen of New Hampshire, deserves affordable, high-quality health care. Nowadays that’s especially important during the pandemic, because everyone needs to have free COVID-19 care, and no one can be left behind just because they are out of work or have low income. We are closer to that goal today because of Anne-Marie and Michelle.

That is why I’m running for the New Hampshire Senate. Because I believe in practical, progressive solutions, and I’ve spent a career finding different ways to achieve them. Because after living here and raising a family in this community for most of my life, I’m passionate about making this the very best place to live and raise a family. And because I believe in the power of working with people like Anne-Marie to make real change that improves people’s lives.

(Paul Hodes represented New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional district from 2007-2011. He is running for state Senate District 15.)