Freedom Includes the Freedom to Be Healthy

On July 4, 1776, the founders of this nation declared that all people are endowed with certain unalienable rights — among them, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Two hundred and fifty years later, we at DaisyMe Foundation ask a simple but urgent question: Can you truly pursue happiness without access to healthcare?

This Independence Day, we celebrate the promise of America — and we recommit to the work of making that promise real for every community we serve.

Independence Day is more than fireworks and flags. It is a moment to measure the distance between the ideals we declared and the reality we have built.

At DaisyMe Foundation, our mission is rooted in that gap. We exist because the freedom to live a healthy life has never been equally distributed in this country. We exist because ZIP code, race, and income still predict health outcomes more reliably than personal choices do.

We exist because freedom, without health, is incomplete.

In 1776, smallpox was ravaging the Continental Army. General George Washington made the controversial decision to inoculate his troops — one of the first large-scale public health interventions in American history. The survival of the revolution depended, in part, on access to preventive care.

The lesson: Public health has always been a matter of national survival. It still is.

From the founding of the republic through the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, Black Americans were systematically denied access to hospitals, physicians, and insurance. The health disparities we see today are not accidents — they are the compounded result of deliberate exclusion.

The lesson: Closing the health equity gap requires understanding how it was opened.

According to the CDC, Black Americans continue to have a lower life expectancy than white Americans — a gap driven by higher rates of preventable chronic disease, maternal mortality, and limited access to primary care. In some counties across the South and Midwest, the gap exceeds a decade.

The lesson: Independence means little if some Americans are dying years earlier than others from preventable causes.

Research consistently shows that community health workers — trusted messengers who share the lived experience of the communities they serve — are among the most effective tools for closing health disparities. They reduce emergency room visits, improve chronic disease management, and increase preventive care utilization.

The lesson: DaisyMe Foundation's model — rooted in community, driven by trust — is evidence-based. Advocacy works.

In 2026, more than 25 million Americans remain uninsured. Medicaid coverage gaps leave millions of low-income adults — disproportionately people of color — without a pathway to care. The Affordable Care Act expanded access, but the work is unfinished.

The lesson: The fight for health equity is the continuation of the civil rights movement by other means.

We are not waiting for the gap to close on its own. Every day, our team works to:

• Navigate barriers — helping individuals and families understand their coverage options, find providers, and access the care they have earned
• Educate communities — delivering health literacy programming that empowers people to advocate for themselves in clinical settings
• Partner strategically — building bridges between pharmaceutical companies, health systems, and the communities most impacted by health disparities
• Advocate systemically — pushing for policy and practice changes that address the root causes of inequity, not just the symptoms

This is what independence looks like in practice: not just the freedom to vote or speak, but the freedom to live — fully, healthily, and with dignity.

To every community we serve: your health matters. Your life matters. The barriers you face are real, but they are not permanent.

To our partners and supporters: thank you for believing that a more equitable healthcare system is possible — and for investing in the work that makes it real.

To the broader public: this holiday, as you gather with family and friends, consider what freedom means to the 25 million Americans without insurance. Consider what independence means to the mother who skips her own checkup because she cannot afford the copay. Consider what the pursuit of happiness looks like when chronic disease goes unmanaged because care is inaccessible.

Then consider joining us.

DaisyMe Foundation is always looking for volunteers, partners, and advocates who share our belief that healthcare is a human right — not a privilege.

Get Involved →

Happy Independence Day from the entire DaisyMe Foundation team. May this Fourth of July bring us all closer to the America we were promised.

DaisyMe Foundation is a registered Texas nonprofit corporation and IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (EIN: 42-2944282). We serve underrepresented communities across the United States through health education, advocacy, and navigation.