Neighbor News
New Hampshire Facing Stark Health Care Issues due to Government Shutdown
Higher Health Care Costs ahead for Most Granite Staters
Watch the Full Event Here
Today, Christin H. D’Ovidio of Putney Consulting and Janet Lucas, New Hampshire State Representative, joined Protect Our Care New Hampshire to call on Congress to end their reckless government shutdown and pass a budget that puts hardworking families over billionaires.
As the shutdown drags on, its impact on health care in New Hampshire is growing. Congress’ refusal to renew enhanced premium tax credits is threatening to raise premiums by as much as 90 percent nationwide, putting affordable coverage out of reach for more than 70,000 Granite Staters who rely on the ACA marketplace.
The shutdown is also disrupting Medicaid reimbursements, community health programs, and rural hospitals—deepening staffing shortages and financial strain on local providers.
There are a lot of things that are kind of conflating together right now, certainly. And so it's not just the shutdown. We see premiums increasing, when we see people lose access to care or when barriers are increased to them getting care, even something as small as requiring a copay for medications for people who didn't have to cover that before.” said Christin H. D’Ovidio of Putney Consulting. “If these tax credits disappear, thousands of New Hampshire families could lose the ability to afford insurance to see a doctor when they’re sick. That impact will be immediate and devastating.”
Janet Lucas, New Hampshire State Representative Grafton 07 Campton, said that
“New Hampshire has been defunding some very important programs for so long that it's cut to the bone and beyond. And now we are in a situation where additional cuts will force the closure or discontinuation of the very programs that save money, particularly home and community based care.Nationally, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 4 million people could lose insurance if these subsidies lapse. For those who keep their plans, rising costs could make coverage unaffordable, worsening an already fragile healthcare market.”
Protect Our Care New Hampshire continues to call on Congress to end this crisis, restore funding to hospitals and health programs, and put people over politics.
