John,

We’ve now seen two full Democratic debates over four nights. We’ve heard the attacks, the one-liners, the canned spiels. But on an issue near and dear to my heart, we haven’t heard the substance we deserve.

Health care.

Since the moment I was diagnosed with ALS in 2016, my family and I have been wading through a mess of insurance paperwork, doctors’ bills, and prescription drugs. I’ve seen firsthand the dysfunction of our health care system.

American voters deserve a better debate on health care. The media must do better, and the next debate is on ABC and Univision next month. So today, we’re starting a petition to demand the substantive debate we deserve.

Sign our petition to ABC and Univision. We want a Democratic debate that does justice to the very real stakes of health care for Americans like me.

I’m not alone in this struggle. More than 80 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured. Those of us fortunate enough to have insurance can’t afford the high copays and deductibles. We’ve got no recourse when our insurance companies say “no” to something we need.

Given everything at stake, and the fact that health care impacts every single American, we need much more than sound bites from presidential candidates in order to make a decision about who to vote for.

We want ABC and Univision to put health care front and center. We need them to elevate the stories of Americans who have experienced our unjust health care system firsthand.

Sign our petition to demand they do just that. The more signatures we have, the more powerful our collective voices will be in this fight.

Ady Barkan