Richard Pan for Congress

Dr. Richard Pan is a proud father, small business owner, educator, and public health advocate, who dedicated his life to building healthy communities, no matter how difficult the challenge.

The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Dr. Pan realized the American Dream through hard work and a good public school education. After earning his medical degree and a masters degree in public health, he went on to lead UC Davis’ Pediatric Residency Program.

Dr. Pan founded Communities and Physicians Together, a grassroots program partnering pediatricians with local neighborhoods. He co-founded ‘Healthy Kids Healthy Future,’ ensuring health, dental, and vision coverage for over 65,000 children in the Sacramento region.

In partnership with the Sacramento City Unified School District, he collaborated with school nurses and teachers to assist children with special needs, ensuring they could learn in school.

But in 2010, the Great Recession and budget cuts loomed over the programs he built with the community. So Dr. Pan organized a coalition of neighbors, small businesses, unions, and health professionals, and ran for State Assembly where, on a nationally bad night for Democrats, he flipped a seat from Red to Blue.

As a legislator, he worked to restore confidence in California at a time when critics deemed the state “ungovernable” by stabilizing the budget and building reserves to prevent further budget cuts that endangered the health and safety of Sacramento families.

One of his first actions in the Legislature was to keep the City of Sacramento’s fire stations open after the city’s budget deficit threatened to shutter public safety services. Collaborating with firefighters, Dr. Pan helped secure $90 million in new federal funding for California’s emergency responders including millions for Sacramento area neighborhoods.

He also authored state laws to ensure health insurance companies could not discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and supported reproductive health clinics.

In 2014, Dr. Pan defied the odds again, by defeating career politicians in the most expensive State Senate election in recent history. Then Dr. Pan got to work focused on the fundamentals: health, safety, and making our communities stronger. Pan authored laws to ban smoking at youth sports and reduce gun violence, expand newborn screening and pregnancy services, fund youth mental health services, control the cost of prescription drugs and health care, and increase child support payments for families.

TIME magazine named Dr. Pan a “hero” for his groundbreaking legislation to increase school vaccination rates to halt the Disneyland measles outbreak in 2015 in the face of vitriolic attacks by RFK Jr. and anti-vaccine extremists. Despite being stalked at his home and business, physically assaulted, and relentless harassment, these personal attacks did not deter Dr. Pan from his commitment to protecting children.

Labor unions, small business groups, and community organizations have all acknowledged Dr. Pan for his leadership, particularly for his role in spearheading numerous significant achievements within the Legislature.

In Congress, Dr. Pan will fight to protect health care; to make food, housing, education and health care more affordable, not less; and to ensure all Americans have equal justice and are treated fairly by our government. He will hold RFK Jr. and President Trump accountable for endangering Americans with disinformation and by dismantling public health agencies including the CDC, FDA and NIH that save American lives. He will demand that science and facts guide federal policies on health care, public health and the environment. Dr. Pan will strive to make the federal government work for the American people.

Protecting Our Healthcare

Dr. Pan dedicated his career to helping children and their families stay healthy. He will work to expand health care coverage so people are able to see a doctor and slow the rising cost of health care so illness does not bankrupt people. Dr. Pan will invest in prevention and public health so people are less likely to get sick in the first place. He will also fund scientific research so Americans can benefit from new cures for diseases like cancer and reduce the burden of chronic disease.

Priorities

• Expand affordable coverage so every family can see a doctor without going broke.
• Invest in preventive care, community clinics, and mental health services.
• Support robust NIH, CDC, and FDA funding to speed lifesaving research.
• Hold insurers and hospital monopolies accountable for unfair billing practices.

Taking on Trump & RFK Jr.

Dr. Pan will hold President Trump and RFK Jr. accountable for endangering Americans and our democracy. Dr. Pan will fight for facts and science, not personal politics and vendettas, to guide federal policy on vaccination, public health, and the environment. He will support servicemembers and civil servants who work for the American people over serving the partisan agendas of the President. Dr. Pan will defend the rule of law and equal justice for all Americans.

Priorities

• Counter disinformation that undermines vaccines, science, and democratic institutions.
• Protect civil servants, scientists, and servicemembers from partisan retaliation.
• Defend the rule of law and ensure equal justice for every American.
• Safeguard the independence of agencies that keep families healthy and safe.

Helping Families Afford Necessities and Reduce Costs

Dr. Pan knows how families struggle to afford necessities including housing, food, college, and health care. As a legislator, he passed laws to keep health insurance premiums in check and cracked down on real health care fraud. Recognized by the National Consumer League, Dr. Pan will curb the role of middlemen driving up the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance for consumers, expand affordable housing, fight for relief from educational debt, and oppose high tariffs that drive up costs for small businesses and consumers.

Priorities

• Cap prescription drug costs and rein in pharmacy benefit middlemen.
• Expand affordable housing, childcare, and family-centered tax relief.
• Provide meaningful student debt relief and lower college costs.
• Oppose tariffs and corporate price-gouging that squeeze small businesses and consumers.

Keeping Our Neighborhoods Safe

Dr. Pan is committed to keeping our communities safe and has taken on the NRA by fighting for common-sense gun safety laws. In Congress he will work to institute universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. Dr. Pan was proud to secure millions in new funding for local firefighters and emergency responders, and in Congress he will invest in first responders, mental health grants, and community-based violence prevention programs that stop crime before it starts.

Priorities

• Pass universal background checks and reinstate the assault weapons ban.
• Invest in first responders, wildfire protection, and emergency preparedness.
• Expand mental health services and community-based violence prevention programs.
• Support local law enforcement partnerships that build trust and reduce crime.