India Post News Service
CHICAGO: Sapan Shah – physician, lawyer and a successful entrepreneur rolled into one – has announced his bid to enter the US Congress from 10th district on a Republican ticket. The primary is slated for March 20 but preliminary reports assessing the voters’ inclination and mood place Dr Shah ahead of his two rivals in the party.
Dr Shah from Libertyville is in the final weeks of his primary campaign for Congress in Illinois’ 10th District and his campaign rests upon a good turnout of his supporters coming to vote. His main focus is on three primary areas: solving the healthcare crisis, reducing government spending and cutting taxes, and championing the role and cause of small and middle level business interests.
Addressing representatives of ethnic media here at Mysore Woodland restaurant, he said that on healthcare, he could easily claim to have first hand feel of the problems besetting the system. “Premiums have skyrocketed despite higher deductibles and less coverage. Individuals have limited insurance options and are often left to struggle with back-breaking medical costs. Patients facing health challenges are left to fend for themselves within a confusing marketplace with fewer options,” Dr. Shah stated.
“As a doctor who has spent his entire adult life in and around the medical field, I am uniquely qualified to address the healthcare crisis we find ourselves in today. I will work to reduce medical costs and heal our broken health care system. I will accomplish this through competition and transparency, empowering individuals by putting them in charge of their own healthcare.”
On the economy, Dr Shah observed that “We could improve our economy by cutting spending, reducing taxes, and supporting our job creators. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, yet instead of supporting them, our government seems to be doing everything it can to stifle the entrepreneurial spirit.”
Citing his own experience, he said, “As a successful entrepreneur and small business owner, I know that businesses sometimes just need government to get out of the way. I will work in Washington to ensure a climate where more small businesses can be born and flourish in the world economy. I will fight to reduce taxes on families and businesses to energize our economy and create better-paying jobs for the hard-working people of the 10th District. And I will demand balanced budgets, spending caps, and a plan to finally begin reducing our massive national debt.”
Dr Shah is for limiting the term that elected officials could hold on to their positions or office. “I want to serve for a maximum of six years and then pass the torch on to the next citizen legislator. I will champion term limits, ending the reign of career politicians and entrenched interests,” he said.
Elaborating he explained that “the Government should be run by citizen legislators, not professional, career politicians. We need leaders with real world experience, who see firsthand the needs of their community, have taken risks, and have lived the day-to-day struggle of everyday Americans. That is one of the reasons I’m running for Congress. While in Congress, I will continue the tradition of independent leadership”.
Dr Shah’s parents came from Halol Gujarat in India with little money or resources, but they worked hard to provide for their family and realize the American dream. Shah too excelled in school, graduating valedictorian of his high school and was accepted into a prestigious direct medical program at Case Western Reserve University, where he graduated magna cum laude in just two years, earned his law degree in two years and his medical degree in four.
In 2007, Dr. Shah founded Flagship Healthcare to use his medical and legal expertise to assist with the business aspects of healthcare so medical professionals could spend their time practicing medicine. Today, his business assists over 800 physicians and several hospitals throughout the country. Sapan and his wife Rachna, also a doctor, were married in 2005
Dr Shah has also been active in the Indian community in multiple ways being a volunteer attorney for the Hanuman Temple of Glenview and has been a Swaminarayan Satsangi his entire life.
Ramesh Soparawala
