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The expansion of Medicaid, which provides health insurance to more than 60,000 Granite Staters, may have hit a roadblock from becoming permanent, despite its unanimous support in the Senate and passage last week in the House.
The program, Granite Advantage, will expire this year; it was implemented in 2014.
Concerns from House Republicans prompted a division of the House Finance Committee on Tuesday to vote 5-4 along party lines to recommend that the entire committee keep Senate Bill 263, which continues the program so permanent, for further work.
House Republicans who are unwilling to make the program permanent said they would consider an extension of two to seven years. As of now, lawmakers have only a two-year extension ahead of them in the House budget.
State House Democrats, state officials and advocates whose communities rely on Granite Advantage have argued that two years is too little to sign and implement such a large contract.
Senate Speaker Jeb Bradley, a Republican from Wolfeboro, told the New Hampshire Today radio show Wednesday morning that an eight-year extension is needed.
I hope that happens and happens quickly, he told host Chris Ryan. It\’s vitally important. The program worked and works well.
Granite Advantage has been credited with reducing the number of uninsured Granite Staters, improving healthcare outcomes by allowing beneficiaries to afford preventative care and lowering uncompensated medical care costs for hospitals.
Like traditional Medicaid recipients, those on Granite Advantage have low incomes. But they don\’t meet Medicaid\’s other eligibility rules, which require them to be under the age of 19, be pregnant or have a physical or developmental disability, or care for children or other family members.
Bradley\’s bill passed unanimously in the Senate in March. It passed the House last week, 193-166, over objections from some Republicans who want to add to the program, among other things, a job requirement and drug testing. The House rejected amendments to the bill that would have added such provisions.
Republicans have also expressed concern that the federal government will reduce its contributions by 90 percent or increase income eligibility, making benefits available to more people; without an expiration date, they warn that the state would not be able to terminate or change the program if it became unsustainable.
Current state law includes a provision that would allow the state to end the program if the federal government reduces its contribution.
The program has always had an expiration date, requiring the legislature to renew it. Supporters said it worked so well that it\’s time to make it permanent.
If the House Finance Committee, which reviewed the bill because it involves state spending, sticks with it, it won\’t be back before lawmakers until next year, at the earliest.
There\’s no doubt that Medicaid (expansion) will be renewed, Rep. Maureen Mooney, a Republican from Merrimack, said in the committee discussion Tuesday. We have thousands in our state who rely on and depend on it. For me, such a big contract that is so big, no matter what the content, should be renewed after a period of time.
Supporters said they are concerned about the committee\’s recommendation to keep the bill, but are still optimistic the program will be expanded.
Expanding Medicaid is a lifeline for needy Granite Staters, Michele Merritt, president and CEO of New Futures, a state health care and defense policy organization, said in a statement Wednesday. Without the Granite Advantage Health Care Program, many individuals and families simply would not be able to access the health care, mental health and substance use treatment they rely on.
This story was originally published byNew Hampshire Bulletin.
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