John -

In recent weeks I’ve spoken with people in all eight counties in the 9th District on my Affordable Healthcare Tour. I’ve heard their struggles: a diabetic who can’t afford his insulin, a mom who has to choose between putting food on the table and healthcare for her child with a chronic illness, a veteran who needs treatment for his PTSD but is stuck in red tape at the VA. The list goes on and on.

Health care costs are rising each year and crushing the budgets of our families. 44,000 people right here in the 9th District are in danger of losing health insurance if career politicians succeed in removing coverage for pre-existing conditions. This has to stop.

I’ve heard people’s struggles, and I’ve consulted with healthcare experts around the country on how to address them. This week I was proud to release my comprehensive Healthcare Plan.

My plan has seven common-sense and non-partisan initiatives to lower out-of-control healthcare costs and provide quality coverage.

1. Protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Many people don’t know this, but most people have a pre-existing condition. Pre-existing conditions include diabetes, asthma, cancer, and pregnancy. Half of the people in the 9th District under the age of 65 have a pre-existing condition. Protecting them is a must-do.
2. Take on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug prices. That means empowering Medicare to negotiate directly with big drug companies, stopping foreign countries from taking advantage of us, and increasing access to low-cost generic drugs.
3. Reap the benefits of expanding Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid would cover 200,000 people and create 35,000 jobs, and it’s 90% paid for with federal funds. The career politicians blocking Medicaid expansion have no excuse. We must stop their stonewalling and get this done.
4. Save rural healthcare. That means telehealth where patients can see doctors over the internet, full recognition of the Lumbee Tribe so they can receive needed healthcare benefits they are being denied, and expanded national service programs in the area of rural health.
5. Exclude primary care visits from deductibles. It’s long been proven that primary care is one of the best ways to lower costs and improve outcomes. It should cost no more than a $25-30 co-pay to see a family physician, pediatrician, general internist, or OB/GYN.
6. Fix incentives by moving to a system where patients pay for the quality of care, not the number of tests or procedures. If a patient goes to the hospital for an appendectomy but gets an infection and has to go back, they're billed twice. They should only be billed once.
7. Better care for our veterans. As a Marine Corps veteran, this is a personal one for me. Those who've sacrificed for our country deserve the best care we have to offer. That starts with reforming the VA. But Congress must also reassert its constitutional responsibility over war and veterans' care. We need more young veterans in Congress to get that done.

If Washington weren’t so broken, common-sense ideas like these would already be law. But instead of fixing our broken healthcare system, career politicians cave to special interests and lobbyists.

My opponent, State Senator Bishop, is a disaster for our healthcare. As the Chair of the Senate healthcare committee, time and time again he’s stood with the special interests like Big Pharma and voted against families’ healthcare. He voted to remove coverage for up to 44,000 people in the district with pre-existing conditions. He’s blocked Medicaid expansion, sending our tax dollars to other states and leaving 200,000 people without coverage. He took the only vote from either party against more affordable prescription drugs.

Fixing our healthcare system is not impossible. But it takes the right leadership in Washington to get it done.

I’m committed to working in Congress on reforms to fix healthcare for our families who are struggling. But to do it, I need your help to win this race. Make a donation of any amount to our campaign today. Whatever you can afford will go a long way in this special election.

Yours in this fight,

Dan