State Sen. Stiles and her GOP colleagues cost NH $8 million

Last fall, all 13 Republican state senators, including our local senator Nancy Stiles, voted against the Medicaid Expansion amendment for New Hampshire, while all 11 Democrats in the Senate voted to support it.

By killing Medicaid Expansion, the Republicans denied health care insurance to 49,000 working poor in the Granite State. In addition, the Republicans rejected $2.4 billion from the federal government designed to cover the costs of expanding health insurance to these needy citizens.

The deadline established by the federal government for accepting Medicaid Expansion without penalty  was Jan. 1, 2014. After that date, $500,000 was deducted per day from the $2.4 billion available to New Hampshire for Medicaid Expansion.

To this date (Jan. 16, 2014), 16 days have elapsed since the deadline.  As a result, to this point, the votes against Medicaid Expansion cast by State Senator Nancy Stiles and her Republican colleagues have  cost New Hampshire a total of $8 million. That amount will only increase as the days pass by.  Medicaid Expansion can still be passed in New Hampshire, but the level of support by the federal government will systematically decline over time until the amendment becomes law.

At present, Sen. Stiles and the other State Senate Republicans have both denied health insurance to those in need and also prevented the citizens in New Hampshire from  receiving a legitimate return on the tax dollars we send to Washington.