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The watchdog group Democracy North Carolina offers a piece of advice about the health care reform issue: follow the money.

The nonpartisan group says that between 2003 and 2008, the nation’s drug makers, health care professionals and insurance industry contributed $5.2 million to the state’s congressional delegation.

Following the money, said Bob Hall, executive director of the Durham-based group, “tells us that there is a substantial amount of money given by this sector. It tells us that nearly a third of it went to one person: Richard Burr .”

An analysis by Hall’s group shows that over the six-year period, the health and insurance industries gave Burr, a Republican senator from Winston-Salem , $1.6 million in campaign contributions.

Hall said that’s nearly three times greater than the next-highest recipient in the Tar Heel delegation: Rep. Sue Myrick , a Charlotte Republican who took in nearly $631,000 from the health care and insurance industries.

Hall, whose group works on campaign finance and voting-related issues, said Burr opposes the Democratic-sponsored health reform proposals in the House and Senate .

Paul Shumaker, a Burr spokesman, said Democracy North Carolina wants to promote public financing of campaigns in the state. The group is suggesting that anyone who contributes to a candidate is doing so to gain access, he said.

“That is a fallacious argument,” Shumaker said. “It is not fair to the people of North Carolina. People support candidates of their choice.”

In addition, Shumaker said, Burr supported the pharmaceutical and health care professions because “they are major players in North Carolina.”

Democracy North Carolina said Burr opposed bills to require Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescriptions drugs and a bill to provide incentives for Medicaid recipients to use generics instead of brand-name drugs.

The group also said the top three Tar Heel recipients from the health care/insurance sector in the p ast six years were Republicans.

The organization said Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat from Greensboro, received $217,208 from the sector for her 2008 campaign. That compares to the $786,712 raised by her opponent, then-Sen. Elizabeth Dole , a Republican.

The analysis showed that health care/insurance money represented less than 4 percent of the contributions Hagan collected that could be classified by sector.

“Sen. Hagan recognizes that there is a need for health care reform in this country,” said Dave Hoffman , her press secretary. “She is not going to be influenced by campaign contributions.”

Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh, whose district includes a portion of Greensboro and Guilford County , received contributions of $300,249 , the most of any Democrat in the delegation.

Legislative director Heather Parsons said Miller “votes with his conscience and for what he thinks is right and not on who has given him campaign contributions.”

Rep. Howard Coble, a Republican from Greensboro, received $133,602, ranking him last among candidates who have run in the p ast three elections.

“I really don’t know what to say,” said Ed McDonald, Coble’s chief of staff. “He is willing to accept contributions from anybody who thinks he is doing a good job.”

Rep. Mel Watt, a Democrat from Charlotte whose district includes parts of Greensboro and Guilford County, raised $177,350 from the sector.

“Money plays a role in politics, unfortunately,” Watt said. “The appearance of being purchased ... is not good. We need to find some other means of financing campaigns, such as public financing, which is what Democracy North Carolina is all about.”

The analysis used data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Federal Elections Commission .

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com