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Medicaid Expansion Under The Microscope

Todd Bookman
/
NHPR

The Department of Health and Human Services released a report Thursday looking at Medicaid expansion in New Hampshire.

It will be the job of lawmakers this spring to make the final decision.And to do that in an informed manner,

DHHS Commissioner Nick Toumpas thought some numbers would help.

“It’s not a straight black or white decision. So, all the more reason why we needed to do the data.”

Toumpas hired consulting firm The Lewin Group to weigh the options.  The reportfound that not expanding Medicaid will reduce state spending by up to $114 million through 2020.  But it would leave 22,000 low-income adults without coverage.

Expanding eligibility will add nearly 60,000 people to the Medicaid rolls. The cost would be about $85 million. Expansion would also bring in $2.5 billion in Federal funding.

That money could have a significant impact on New Hampshire’s health care sector.

Just how big of an impact will be the subject of a second report, due out later this year.

Todd started as a news correspondent with NHPR in 2009. He spent nearly a decade in the non-profit world, working with international development agencies and anti-poverty groups. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University.
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