Story by Molly Weisner
A new advertisement from Democrat Dan McCready’s team launched in late July, reigniting the healthcare debate and calling out Republican state Sen. Dan Bishop’s voting record.
This time, the contention between the two running in the 9th Congressional District special election on Sept. 10 focuses on the Pharmacy Patient Fair Practices Act. Passed in June 2017, the bill works to make smaller pharmacies more competitive in the drug market and preserve transparency of drug costs.
If you’re a consumer, this means a pharmacy can discuss lower-cost alternatives and sell you cheaper versions. The press release from McCready’s team referred to “gag rules” or clauses in laws that have historically prevented openness between drug providers and patients.
On this, McCready’s claim that the act gives pharmacies the right to discuss more affordable drugs with patients is accurate.
But what about the rest?
The ad also said that Bishop was the only state legislator to vote against this bill, which records indicate is also true.
The Democrat then said that Bishop’s reason for voting against the bill was that he didn’t have time to fully read it. According to The Charlotte Observer, Bishop said in an email he doesn’t vote for bills before reading them.
McCready retorted, saying “the bill was shorter than Dr. Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham,’” according to a press release.
In previous statements, Bishop said that the accusation is unfair considering the bill took on last minute changes. But it is true that the bill is shorter than the Dr. Seuss book.
UNC FactCheck was unable to contact Bishop regarding McCready’s accusations in the advertisement, but Bishop did share his stance in a statement we debunked last month.
McCready also invoked Bishop’s vote against a 2015 bill that demanded insurance companies cover oral and IV cancer treatments equally.
Recently, McCready was in Fayetteville, where he said the solution to lowering drug prices is taking on Big Pharma, whose lobbyists spend money to “buy and sell politicians.”
While McCready’s advertisement alleges drug company money is helping Bishop’s campaign, a look through campaign finance records don’t immediately show contributions from groups tied to pharmaceutical companies.
McCready has said before on the campaign trail that healthcare is the most important issue in this race.
On July 31, the National Republican Congressional Committee released a new television ad slamming McCready for being a “liberal Democrat insider.”
Check back for an updated fact check of those claims.
