Healthcare Leaders, State Legislators joinProtect Our Care New Hampshire Launch “Sick of It” Campaign

MANCHESTER, NH – On Friday, July 19, Jessica LaMontagne, Representative for District 4 Dover, Lisa Beaudoin, Founder of Strategies for Disability Equity, and Jenn Coffey, a local healthcare hero launched Protect Our Care’s “Sick of It! Fix Health Care Now” campaign in Manchester, New Hampshire at Arms Park. “Sick of It! Fix Health Care Now” is a multi-month effort giving voice to the millions of Americans sick of Congress gutting our health care. Speakers demanded action from lawmakers and called for solutions to lower costs, lower barriers to care, and fix our broken health care system.

New Hampshire residents are fed up with the growing health care crisis after Trump and Republicans like Kelly Ayotte slashed more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and gutted Affordable Care Act tax credits to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. Since then, more than eight million people, including 30,000 people across New Hampshire who have lost the coverage they relied on to see a doctor when they’re sick, while costs have skyrocketed for millions more. Over 1,000 hospitals, nursing homes, maternity wards, and other providers are closing, cutting essential services, or facing the risk of closure or cuts, such as Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, NH. Read more about the damage and harm Republican health care cuts are causing New Hampshire families here.

“Declining participation in Medicaid, not from lack of need but from a bureaucratic nightmare, will significantly hurt our rural hospitals and community health centers, as well as those to whom Medicaid is their only visible insurance option,” said Representative Jessica LaMontagne (NH-04). “Let’s not just talk about how horrible Trump 2.0 policies are, let’s talk about what we can do to make things better. Our current system leaves too many people uninsured or under-insured,and even those with coverage face rising premiums, deductibles, copays, and delays in care.”

“As a longstanding disability policy professional, disability families here in New Hampshire know they can reach out to me when they are facing Medicaid challenges, like redetermination denials. In the last four months, I have received more calls on denials of Medicaid program eligibility than I have in the last two years,” said Lisa Beaudoin, Founder of Strategies for Disability Equity. “Think about that. We are facing the tip of the iceberg when the full weight of work requirements, premiums, quarterly reporting, and twice-yearly redeterminations comes crashing down on Granite Staters who depend on Medicaid for survival.”

“I suffer from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The Severe Small Fiber Neuropathy that came with the CRPS has destroyed so many of my nerves, I am not supposed to be able to stand here with you today,” said Jenn Coffey, local healthcare advocate. “When I was diagnosed, I had United Healthcare Medicare Advantage. They refused to pay for the care I needed to stay alive. I had to sell everything I own including my car to afford the infusions I needed to live. While I lost what was left of my dignity, they bought more yachts and private jets.”

Watch the Full Event Here.

Learn More About the “Sick of It!” Campaign Here.