Local residents urge State Sen. Stiles to support Medicaid Expansion

On Saturday, over 40 local Seacoast residents lined the sidewalk in front of the Hampton gazebo in support of Medicaid Expansion. Hampton State Reps. Renny Cushing, Elaine Ahearn and Chris Muns were among those in the crowd.

Medicaid Expansion will provide health insurance to 49,000 needy NH working families who currently use expensive emergency room services for medical care. The cost of their emergency room care is paid for  by NH taxpayers, including those who have their own medical insurance.

The federal government will provide $2.4 billion to cover the cost of Medicaid Expansion in NH. All of the cost will be covered during the first three years and no less than 90 percent thereafter. In effect, this money is owed to NH taxpayers. For every tax dollar, NH sends to Washington, it gets 71 cents back in federal goods and services. By stark contrast, Mississippi gets $2.02 back for every tax dollar it sends. The $2.4 billion NH would receive under this plan helps balance the scales.

Medicaid Expansion has been endorsed by the NH Hospital Association, the NH Medical Society and the NH Nurse Practitioner Association. State Sen. Stiles previously voted against Medicaid Expansion. She will have a chance to change her vote in two upcoming ballots.

State Rep. Chris Muns, commented "There's no doubt that the immediate effect of Medicaid expansion will be on the 49,000 currently uninsured people who will benefit from it, but I think that there's a misconception that they're the only ones who will get something out of this. The reality is that it's going to benefit everyone in the state. It will bring $2.5 billion of investment into the state. It will generate 5000 jobs, and it will also reduce the amount of uncompensated care that hospitals are paying and hopefully reduce the cost of premiums overall."

Julie Moore of Hampton said, "It is absolutely necessary. And for our state, it is so  meaningful for children, young people, disabled, and the elderly. How can we turn our backs on these people at this point in time?"

Claudia Ravin, also of Hampton, noted, "We are both health care professionals. We see the importance of having accessible health care and getting  people into the system before they are emergency room cases because that's when it really gets expensive for the taxpayer. And it's inefficient. And often you can't achieve the result you want had the individual been seen sooner and more regularly.

Neil Ravin, Claudia's husband, added, "That's where the resistance comes from. Everybody thinks it's just for poor people; it's just another handout. It's not. It's for everybody. If people who could have had Medicaid, use the emergency room as their only source of health care, everybody's rates go up. We're all in this together. It's not poor people getting a handout. It's everybody having their rates driven up by free care for poor people."

State Sen. Stiles will have two opportunities to reconsider her vote against Medicaid Expansion, once as a member of a nine person commission and again as a member of the State Senate.