CURA Strategies is a bipartisan, integrated strategic communications and public affairs agency focused on one thing: transforming health care. Our name, CURA—Latin for care, concern, and attention to others—exemplifies our mission to take exceptional care of our clients so they can transform the health care system and improve lives. Our agency has earned distinction for our successful integrated advocacy campaigns that combines strategic communications with government relations. Health Policy Profiles is the latest addition to our Art of Advocacy resource hub. Visit our website and follow us on social media to learn more.
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The team at CURA Strategies undertook this project using a rigorous research methodology that left no stone unturned. Over three months and more than 300 work hours, CURA pored over the records of every competitive congressional candidate to create profiles for every new member of the 117th Congress without previous congressional experience. We did not profile Darrell Issa (R-CA), Pete Sessions (R-TX) or David Valadao (R-CA) who previously served in the House, however they are included in our By-The-Numbers analysis.
CURA pored over the records of every competitive congressional candidate to create profiles for every new member of the 117th Congress. Researchers captured general information such as gender, ethnicity, military service and any personal health information the member-elect made available. We then searched for the key issue areas that form modern health care policy debates, including:
Insurance coverage (Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid)
Prescription drug pricing
COVID-19 relief
Mental health services
Opioid & addiction services
Military & veteran health
Family planning & women’s health
Marijuana legalization & regulation
CURA used several research resources to inform the profiles, including campaign websites, local news media, national candidate profiles, debate transcripts and issue group questionnaires. CURA also thoroughly researched the candidates with prior government experience to see how thier prior votes and sponsorship of bills may influence their congressional priorities.
Each entry in the Health Policy Profiles© underwent a thorough review after each member-elect was confirmed as the winner of their respective election. These reviews cross-referenced each stance and confirmed both the details of every candidate’s health care experiences and source links. With added context from the 2020 election, each entry holds a complete picture of where each candidate stands on the issues as the new Congress prepares to begin work in January 2021. We intend to release an updated version of HPP once the committee assignments have been announced which may also include winners from the two Senate runoff races in Georgia and the NY-22 race.