Healthcare

Chris Bishopp, the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 82, believes that everyone should have access to quality healthcare, and that North Carolina has concrete ways to expand that access and bring costs down for families and the state budget alike.

Cabarrus County is one of the fastest-growing counties in North Carolina, which means more residents are competing for the same doctors, hospital beds, and specialists, even as rising premiums and prescription costs are already stretching family budgets. Many of the county's own teachers and state employees feel that squeeze directly, since health insurance premiums have been rising faster than their pay. Chris believes the state's healthcare policy should be expanding access and bringing down costs, not letting both problems get worse.

Chris will defend North Carolina's 2023 Medicaid expansion, which has extended health coverage to about 735,000 North Carolinians as of August 2026, against any effort to roll it back. He argues that when people have coverage, they can get treated early instead of waiting until a problem is serious enough for the emergency room, and early treatment costs less for everyone, including the state. He also believes access to quality care shouldn't depend on where you live, and wants to keep directing federal funding tied to expansion toward the hospitals and community health clinics that need it most, including those at risk of closing.

Chris also wants the state to invest in healthcare workforce training programs, so North Carolina has more doctors, nurses, and other providers to meet demand. More providers in the pipeline means shorter wait times and more capacity to see patients, which also helps expand access, especially as counties like Cabarrus keep growing.

Chris wants to bring down the cost of prescription drugs by strengthening and closing loopholes in North Carolina's 2025 SCRIPT Act, which regulates pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen whose practices add to what patients pay at the pharmacy counter.

In Raleigh, Chris will support policies that expand healthcare coverage and access, rather than allowing them to shrink.