CONCORD – Today House Republican Leader Gene G. Chandler (R-Bartlett) and Assistant House Republican Leader John Hunt (R-Rindge) offered the following comments relative to the public hearing on House Bill 271, a bill that would prohibit the expansion of Medicaid in New Hampshire as part of Obamacare.
House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett)
“We already know that expanding Medicaid will cost New Hampshire taxpayers a minimum of $85 million. Proponents of Obamacare are quick to tout potential benefits but they fail to explain how we will finance this huge increase in government spending during a very difficult budget season. This is money the State simply does not have. Moreover, even if the Federal government honors its commitments in the short-term, we know that federal funding for the program will be decreased over the next seven years, leaving Granite Staters to pick up the true cost of this expansion going forward. We all want better healthcare, but we must be honest with taxpayers about the price tag of a government takeover.”
Assistant House Republican Leader John Hunt (R-Rindge)
“Throughout the 2012 campaign, we heard the constant calls to restore funding to essential state services that may have been cut in the prior budget. Now, we hear the constant calls to open up the checkbook to fund the various costs of implementing a brand new program. We cannot and should not be forced to overlook programs like CHINS in favor of expansive new programs, that in the end, the federal government hasn’t even committed to fully fund in the long term. House Bill 271 would allow us to focus on matters at home rather than spend money recklessly as part of a federal mandate.”