Even though New Hampshire Dems still control the Governorship, and took back the House and the Executive Council in 2012, one body of congress is plenty to force mindbogglingly poor policy decisions on the rest:

nhpr.org

GOP Budget Writers Vote Down Medicaid Expansion

Saying there’s simply too much uncertainty, top Senate budget writers voted 4-2 against expanding the state’s Medicaid program on Wednesday.

Senate President Peter Bragdon (R-Milford) says he has concerns the Federal government won’t be able to meets its promises to fund the expansion long-term.

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“I’m not a big fan of spending a whole lot of money on something that seems to me to have some doubts as to whether or not it is effective,” says Bragdon. He’s instead calling for the creation of a study commission that would look into issues surrounding expansion.

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The Federal Government will cover 100% of the costs of expansion through 2017, phasing down to 90% through 2020. GOP lawmakers say there is no guarantee, though, that Washington will fully meet its obligation.

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An independent study found expansion will provide roughly 60,000 additional New Hampshire residents with health coverage, and bring $2.5 billion in federal money into the economy. It comes with an estimated $27 million price tag to the state.

concordmonitor.com

Medicaid expansion vote worries state’s health care providers

Mental health centers and local hospitals that were encouraged earlier this year by the House’s vote to expand Medicaid are troubled that some Senate Republicans intend to halt that move.

Last week, the Senate Finance Committee voted, 4-2, along party lines to take expanded Medicaid out of the state budget and instead study expansion’s impact on the state. Senate President Peter Bragdon, a Milford Republican, proposed a $200,000 study commission in place of expansion, citing skepticism that the federal government will honor its promise to pay the bulk of the expense.

Jay Couture, president of the New Hampshire Community Behavioral Health Association, said expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would provide the state’s 10 community mental health centers an additional $13.6 million over two years for the uncompensated care they must provide.

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Steve Anhen, president of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, described the move as a step in the wrong direction.

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Anhen, Couture and other health care providers said expanding Medicaid insurance to more people will allow them to seek preventive, less-expensive care they now put off because they can’t afford it. Instead, they said, the uninsured go to emergency rooms when they are too ill to put off care any longer, making treatment more costly and often less effective.

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Bragdon and his three Republican colleagues on Senate finance, Sen. Bob Odell, a Lempster Republican, Sen. Chuck Morse, a Salem Republican and Sen. Jeanie Forrester, a Meredith Republican, disagreed. They voted with Bragdon to study expansion instead, saying there is too little evidence that expansion will lower costs or improve health care outcomes.