Campaign Update—Orentlicher for Congress
This past week, we enjoyed a St. Patrick’s Day Dinner with the Pike County Democrats in Petersburg, the March dinner meeting of the Otter Creek Democrats in Terre Haute, and a fish fry at Sarah Scott Middle School in Terre Haute.
Residents of the 8th District commonly voice concerns about our health care system. As a physician, I know firsthand that we need to invest more of our health care dollars to prevent disease. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.
Anti-smoking efforts provide an important example. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidelines for programs that could reduce cigarette smoking among adults by about one-third. With annual spending of just over $3 billion for the CDC’s recommended programs, we could cut deeply into the $300 billion in annual costs to our country from smoking.
While we need to invest more health care dollars in disease prevention, the 8th District’s incumbent has joined with his Republican colleagues in Congress to cut funding for an important public health and prevention program that was enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act. Regrettably, the incumbent has described the program as a “slush fund.†With your support, we can do better and ensure that our government does much more to promote the public’s health.
Please do not hesitate to let me know of ideas you have to improve public policy. You can reach me at david.orentlicher@yahoo.com
For more information on our campaign, you can follow us on our Facebook page and at our website.
