Drug makers, insurance companies and health providers have chosen carefully in deciding where to put their campaign dollars in North Carolina.

North Carolina's lawmakers in Washington have received millions of dollars from health-related companies in the past three campaigns, according to a new analysis by Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog group, Barb Barrett reports.

Top among them: Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican and a member of the Senate health committee who has submitted his own legislation for health reform.

Burr received nearly $1.7 million from health and insurance interests from 2003 through 2008, according to the organization. It conducted its analysis using data compiled from the Center for Responsible Lending and the Federal Elections Commission. (N&O)