My Letter to the Editor, published in the Union Leader on December 21, 2017
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20171221/OPINION04/171229894/1004/opinion
Keep Medicaid expansion in NH
December 21. 2017 12:02AM
To the Editor: The New Hampshire Health Protection Program, also known as Medicaid Expansion, is a way that New Hampshire can leverage federal dollars to ensure that our most vulnerable Granite Staters have access to quality and affordable health care.
New Hampshire has a long-standing history of Republicans and Democrats coming together to pass sensible legislation for our great state. One such example was the New Hampshire Health Protection Program (NHHPP) established in 2014 with a robust bipartisan coalition and reauthorized in 2016. The NHHPP has provided coverage to more than 100,000 individuals in the state — more than 75 percent with an income well below the federal poverty level.
It’s no secret that New Hampshire is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. NHHPP is the most critical tool in our toolbox to fight this disease. Failing to reauthorize the NHHPP will halt the growth that New Hampshire has seen in the substance use disorder treatment field. Now is not the time to slow down our fight against addiction.
The NHHPP is once again up for reauthorization. We must ensure that the most vulnerable among us have access to quality and affordable health care.
It is my sincere hope that legislators in Concord will come together and put people over politics by reauthorizing the NHHPP. A bipartisan approach is always best for New Hampshire.
BONNIE WRIGHT
Salem