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Who was Ady Barkan? Prominent activist in struggle for healthcare rights dies at 39 after ALS diagnosis
Ady Barkan urged Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake to "be an American hero" during an exchange that was caught on camera, and it went on to inspire his Be A Hero effort
Ady Barkan, an attorney and prominent activist in the field of healthcare rights, has died at the age of 39. Ady was diagnosed with ALS back in 2016. The news of his death was announced on his X account by his wife Rachael.
“Hi all, this is Ady’s wife, Rachael. I’m devastated to share the news that Ady has died from complications of ALS. You probably knew Ady as a healthcare activist. But more importantly he was a wonderful dad and my life partner for 18 years,” Rachel wrote.
Who was Ady Barkan?
Ady is a co-founder of the nonprofit Be A Hero, whose team “takes on critical fights to transform America’s healthcare system so that it guarantees all of us the care and dignity we deserve,” according to its website.
Ady attended Columbia as an undergrad and then went to Yale for his law degree. Ever since his college years, he was active in political causes. However, he became popular for his healthcare advocacy after he was diagnosed with ALS.
Notably, Ady urged Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake to "be an American hero" during an exchange that was caught on camera, and it went on to inspire his Be A Hero effort.
Ady sued the Southern California-based insurer Health Net in 2018, for allegedly denying benefits to members. In 2020, he was named on Time magazine's list of the Most Influential People.
According to Be A Hero’s website, over his career, Ady “specialized in bringing policy makers face to face with the people whose lives their decisions shape, and generating public attention and political pressure out of those confrontations. Since 2017, Ady’s work has focused on health care, marshaling his own paralysis from A.L.S. to urge Americans to demand more of our government.”
Remembering Ady in a post on X, Be A Hero wrote, “It’s with deep sadness that we announce the death of our co-founder and co-executive director, @AdyBarkan, at age 39 due to ALS-related complications. Ady will continue to be at the heart of Be A Hero and what we do here for years to come.”
