Report Sounds Alarm on New Hampshire Health Care Crisis as Coverage Losses and Costs Mount

Watch the Full Event HERE

CONCORD, NH — Today, Edward D. Shanshala II, CEO of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services and Stefany Shaheen, health care entrepreneur and chronic-disease advocate, joined Protect Our Care New Hampshire to discuss a new report detailing the impact of federal health care cuts, rising costs and coverage losses on New Hampshire patients, families and health care providers.

The report estimates that 20,374 Granite Staters have lost Medicaid, CHIP or Affordable Care Act coverage, including 15,506 people who lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage and 4,868 who dropped ACA coverage following premium increases. Granite Staters who had relied on enhanced ACA tax credits saw premiums increase by an average of 116 percent this year.

The report also projects significant pressure on New Hampshire's health care system, including a $19 million funding loss for hospitals and clinics, a 13.7 percent increase in uncompensated care demand, and $1.8 billion in hospital losses over the next decade associated with Medicaid reductions. Already, more than 80 hospital wards, over 40 maternity wards, and nearly 320 clinics have shuttered nationwide. Because of cuts, everyone, everywhere, will pay higher costs, regardless of where they live in NH.

As of August, the report identifies nine New Hampshire health care providers that are at risk, have announced cuts, are closing or have closed, underscoring concerns about what coverage losses and reduced funding could mean for access to care — particularly in rural communities.

Speakers discussed how these changes are already being felt in different parts of the health care system. Shanshala addressed the challenges facing community health centers and rural providers; Shaheen spoke about the experience of families managing chronic health conditions.

“Ultimately, we'll either all stand together, or we'll all fall together, and we can't afford to have any one of us fall down. We don't have enough of what we have already. We can't do with less,” said Edward D. Shanshala II, CEO of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services.“If any one of us falters, we all falter.”

“No one should ever be an accident or a diagnosis away from economic collapse,” said Stefany Shaheen, chronic-disease advocate. “Insulin is a life-sustaining medication for her. If she goes without it for 6 hours, she doesn't live. This is not a nice-to-have thing. This is a necessity to stay alive.”

The speakers emphasized that the consequences extend beyond people who lose insurance entirely. Higher premiums, deductibles, prescription costs and increasing uncompensated care can affect patients, providers and families throughout the state. They called for protecting affordable coverage, addressing Medicaid funding reductions and reducing the cost barriers that prevent Granite Staters from getting the care and medications they need.

You can watch the full event here and learn more about attacks on health care here.