NH Senate OKs Medicaid Expansion

The New Hampshire Senate voted 18-5 on Thursday in favor of SB 413, a bipartisan agreement that would accept federal funds to expand access to health coverage. The bill now goes on to the House of Representatives for approval.

Gov. Maggie Hassan called the bill's passage "a critical step forward" for the economy and the health and financial well-being of New Hampshire families.

"This fiscally responsible, bipartisan plan is a uniquely New Hampshire solution that will boost our economy, reduce cost-shifting on businesses and improve the lives of 50,000 hard-working people who deserve the security of health insurance," Hassan said. "This measure will help us address long-standing healthcare challenges by reducing uncompensated care at our hospitals’ emergency rooms, expanding access to cost-saving primary and preventive care, and providing substance abuse and mental health treatment coverage to thousands of people for the first time."

Senate Democratic Leader Sylvia Larsen said Thursday was "a momentous day" for New Hampshire. 

"This legislation will strengthen our state’s economy, prevent the sort of cost-shifting that drives up health care costs on businesses, and improve the lives of 50,000 hard-working Granite Staters," she said. "This is right thing to do for New Hampshire."

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley called it "a tremendous step forward" for the state.

"With expansion, 50,000 Granite Staters will no longer have to fight cancer and bankruptcy at the same time," he said. "Instead they will have the economic security that only comes with health insurance coverage."

Some Republicans, however, were critical of the bill's passage.

"House Republicans aren’t convinced this bill is the right solution for New Hampshire," House Republican Leader Gene Chandler said. "There are a number of Republican members who won’t vote for any program tied to the failed Obamacare law. There are concerns about how the state will be able to pay for this type of entitlement expansion in perpetuity and if that could lead to significant budget problems down the road. This type and scale of program represents the largest increase in spending New Hampshire has seen for some time, and it is dependent on funding from the federal government who can’t seem to keep many promises."

AFP-NH State Director Greg Moore called the bill's passage "baffling," especially considering that Washington is looking to slow the implementation of Obamacare.

"This is a huge mistake that will hurt working families across the state with lower the quality of care, lead to longer waits to get critical health treatment and a huge fiscal liability in future years," he said. "The public deserves better and they will hold the supporters of Obamacare accountable for the damage this law will do."

Republican gubernatorial candidate Andrew Hemingway said he was "very disappointed" in the Senate vote.

"This plan is simply wrong for New Hampshire. We have learned time and again that simply throwing more money at programs does not work in the long-term," he said. "It is time we start looking at things differently. The real problem with healthcare and health insurance is the cost. That’s what we need to fix."