Commission Recommends New Hampshire Medicaid Expansion

A New Hampshire commission of lawmakers, officials and members of the public has recommended that the state expand its Medicaid program under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The 11-member commission — which met for the first time in July — made its determination after evaluating the potential costs and benefits of the expansion, provider availability, impact on Medicaid reimbursement and other factors. New Hampshire has not yet made a decision about whether or not to extend Medicaid eligibility to adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the commission's final report.

According to the report, under a 7.5-year model, the expansion would result in $2.4 billion in federal expenditures and $103 million in New Hampshire general funds expenditures to cover 48,358 new enrollees. However, increased funding to cover the state inmate population, new premium revenue from the transition to Medicaid managed care and other changes would result in about $64 million in net revenue offsets to the state.

The commission favors expansion through the New Hampshire Access to Health Program, which would deliver Medicaid benefits through a managed care model, according to the report. Not expanding Medicaid would increase the burden of uncompensated care in the state and result in increasingly unstable insurance markets, according to the commission.

State legislators will have the final say on whether or not New Hampshire goes ahead with Medicaid expansion.

For more information, read the commission's full report here.

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