CONCORD, N.H. — State Senate leaders announced a bipartisan deal Thursday to expand Medicaid to an estimated 49,000 poor New Hampshire adults by using federal funds to pay for private insurance.
Senate President Chuck Morse, a Salem Republican, and Senate Democratic Leader Sylvia Larsen of Concord announced the agreement in a presentation before the chamber’s Rules Committee. The committee voted unanimously to allow their bill’s introduction.
Gov. Maggie Hassan praised the agreement in her State-of-the-State speech about an hour later. “With today’s positive step forward, it’s clear that we can work through this together and help working people access critical health coverage,” she said.
Larsen said the agreement is the culmination of private negotiations since efforts to expand Medicaid failed during a special session in November.
“At the end of the day, this is about expanding coverage for tens of thousands of mostly working, low-income citizens, supporting our providers, helping our state budget, and helping our economy. Our bill will do all of these things,” said Larsen.
Morse and Larsen said the agreement’s framework, which will be put into legislation next week, would expand access to private health insurance by using an existing state program that subsidizes employer-based insurance and by buying private coverage through the federal marketplace.
If New Hampshire were to expand the program, the federal government would pick up the full cost for the first three years and 90 percent over the long haul. New Hampshire’s health care providers would share in an estimated $2.4 billion over seven years.
The bipartisan agreement would end when federal funding drops below 100 percent in three years unless the Legislature voted to continue it.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
-
Business
Millions to travel for Memorial Day weekend amid record-high gas prices
-
Varsity Maine
Thursday’s high school roundup: Thornton Academy notches 10th straight win
-
Varsity Maine
Baseball: Scarborough stays hot, thumps Deering for fifth straight win
-
Nation & World
Biden to console families in Uvalde, press for action
-
Sports
Sports Digest: Maine drops opener in America East baseball tournament
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have one? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.