Stiles and GOP State Senators Reject $2.5 billion for NH

A $2.5 billion grant is available under the Affordable Care Act which will help 58,000 more poor working families in New Hampshire afford health coverage. The federal government has pledged to pay 100% of the cost of expanding Medicaid in the first three years, 93 to 95% for the next three, and at least 90% thereafter. If New Hampshire refuses the $2.5 billion, our money, which we have already paid to the federal government in taxes, will go to other states.

At present, poor uninsured people go to hospital emergency rooms for free medical treatment. Not only is this form of care costly and inefficient, the rest of us pay for those costs in increased medical expenses at hospitals. The planned Medicaid expansion to 58,000 indigent and uninsured Granite Staters will help end their reliance on emergency rooms; improve their health, and, perhaps most surprising, it will boost our state's economy.

According to the non-partisan New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, "if New Hampshire takes the federal money, it will enjoy a number of economic benefits as well. It will gain an average of 5,100 new jobs; the state will enjoy a $2.8 billion increase in gross state product; personal income will increase by more than $2 billion; and household spending on health care will drop by almost $100 million statewide."

It's a win-win-win. The health of the poorest amongst us improves. The state economy improves. And we save money.

Who can be against it? Surprisingly, Republicans in the State Senate, including local state senator Nancy Stiles, voted to reject $2.5 billion in federal funding for Medicaid expansion, preventing the state from receiving it.

All is not lost. A second chance for New Hampshire to take advantage of this money will likely occur in October when a special session of the state legislature is expected to be called for another vote on expansion of Medicaid.

Republican resistance to the expansion of Medicaid here in New Hampshire conforms with a nationwide GOP strategy of attempting to resist, delay, and, if possible, scuttle the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as the Obamacare law.

Yet, when asked what their plan is to improve health care for Americans, Republicans, like Nancy Stiles and her colleagues in the State Senate,  stare at you blankly. They have no plan. Their only plan is oppose and obstruct implementation of the Obamacare law. Just saying no to a law that was passed by Congress; signed by the President; and validated by the Supreme Court will not improve the health of a single American.