skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Next Week: “Critical” Turning Point for Health of 50,000+ in NH

play audio
Play

Friday, June 14, 2013   

CONCORD, N.H. – It has been a case of political hot potato, and next week, New Hampshire lawmakers enter crunch time when it comes to deciding the fate of Medicaid expansion in the Granite State.

Tess Kuenning, executive director, Bi-State Primary Care Association, is rooting for including Medicaid expansion in the state budget. That would extend coverage to more than 50,000 people who need it, she said.

"They will be able to go to primary care and prevention," she said. "They'd be able to access health care providers in specialty and in hospitals, and they'd be able to keep themselves healthy. And that's just the human side."

The House included the Medicaid expansion in its version of the budget, but the State Senate excluded the expansion, so Kuenning said some agreement needs to be reached by the end of next week in order for the expansion plans to survive.

Opponents of the plan have said they are concerned about how much expansion could cost the state.

Doug McNutt, associate state director of advocacy, AARP New Hampshire, said that, over seven years, for every three cents the state invests in the program it would get back 97 cents from Uncle Sam.

"New Hampshire pays a lot of money into federal taxes," he said. "This is an opportunity for New Hampshire to get money into the state: $2.5 billion over seven years."

The way the legislative process works, lawmakers have only about four days next week to make an initial deal, McNutt said.

"The House and the Senate are going to have to come to agreement in what's in the final budget," he said. "It's our hope that they agree on a budget that would have Medicaid expansion in it."

Since the program began in the mid 1960s, the federal government has always fulfilled its obligation for funding the program, he noted.

Gov. Maggie Hassan has warned that New Hampshire would lose more than $300 million next year alone, should lawmakers reject the plan.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021