Citizens in Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin’s home state of Wisconsin and across America are only now beginning to reap the benefits of Obama’s healthcare reform. While some remain highly critical of the act, it has already made a difference in many people’s lives, even before it has been fully implemented. “We need to just see this through,” she urges, and explains why.

For more, read the extended Q&A of Baldwin’s discussion with The Nation.

—Elizabeth Whitman