The New Hampshire Senate
Republican Majority Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2013
CONTACT
Tom Cronin
Senate Majority Leader Bradley Statement on Medicaid Expansion Commission
Concord, NH – Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, issued the following statement in response to criticism related to the Senate Finance Committee’s proposed Medicaid Expansion Commission:
“Medicaid is New Hampshire’s largest and most expensive state program, costing $1.4 billion a year and accounting for 27 percent of the state’s general fund spending. Before New Hampshire rushes in to a fundamental overhaul and expansion of this entitlement, practicality dictates that we study it carefully and consider our options. This is what the Supreme Court envisioned when it ruled states have the authority not to expand, and this is why 26 other states have said no to the federal dollars associated with new program requirements at this time.
“The bipartisan commission proposed by the Senate Finance Committee will have the time and resources necessary to study what expansion will mean for the state taxpayers, patients and providers. They will seek to answer two fundamental questions: Should New Hampshire expand Medicaid? And, if so, how?
“Voters elected us to carefully consider the issues facing the state and to make the tough decisions on the best way forward. We would be derelict in that duty if we blindly agreed to the long-term costs and responsibilities associated with the federal model of Medicaid expansion simply in exchange for the flimsy promise of new federal funds.”
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