By Sohaib Shams
John D. Rockefeller IV, a two-term governor of West Virginia and five-term United States senator who made expanding health insurance for low-income children a cornerstone of his legislative legacy, died on Friday at his home in Washington. He was 89. A family representative, Shelley Rodgers, confirmed the death.
From Privilege to Appalachia
Widely known as Jay, Rockefeller was the great-grandson and namesake of the founder of Standard Oil, the nation’s first billionaire. Despite his inherited wealth and a family lineage of prominent Republicans, he chose a different path. In the mid-1960s, he went to live with coal miners in Appalachia as a social worker, an experience he later said shaped his commitment to health care for the poor.
Political Career in West Virginia and Washington
Rockefeller served as West Virginia’s governor from 1977 to 1985, then won election to the U.S. Senate, where he spent 30 years. He compiled a generally liberal voting record while also championing national security and veterans’ rights. He was a principal Senate supporter, alongside Senator Edward M. Kennedy, of President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton’s 1993 comprehensive health care plan, which ultimately failed amid industry opposition.
Children’s Health Insurance Program and Later Achievements
Four years later, Rockefeller coauthored legislation that created the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which now covers millions of children in low-income families who would otherwise be uninsured. He also wrote laws providing extended care services for veterans, including home health care, and voted for the 2010 Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare. “It doesn’t make me liberal,” he told The New York Times during the Obamacare debate. “I care.”
