FACT SHEET: Republicans’ Agenda Could Raise Health Care Costs in New Hampshire

On the Docket: Cuts to the ACA and Medicaid

CONCORD, NH — Congressional Republicans are pushing a plan to cut trillions from the budget, but Speaker McCarthy and his cohort of extreme GOP leaders refuse to disclose where their proposed cuts will come from. While the GOP is being “intentionally vague,” their track record speaks for itself: virtually every Republican budget over the last decade has included repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and deep cuts to Medicaid.

Here in New Hampshire, the proposal comes as Governor Chris Sununu has already staunchly advocated for ACA repeal and worked to restrict Medicaid coverage in the state after calling expansion of the program a “problem.”

“MAGA Republicans from the halls of Congress to the field of 2024 presidential hopefuls are pushing the same extreme agenda of cuts to critical programs like the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. The math speaks for itself: Granite Staters simply can’t afford the GOP’s attacks on our health care system,” said NHDP Spokesperson Aida Ross. Here’s a snapshot of how Republicans’ extreme agenda will hurt New Hampshire:

• Ending Medicaid would be a major setback in combating the opioid crisis, which has hit New Hampshire hard. Given the importance of Medicaid in covering opioid treatment, loss of coverage would make it harder for New Hampshire to combat the opioid crisis and prevent overdose deaths.

• At least 230,000 Granite Staters with pre-existing health conditions could lose critical protections. As of 2018, at least 230,000 people in New Hampshire have declinable pre-existing conditions under pre-ACA practices.

• Over 122,000 Granite Staters could lose protections against catastrophic medical bills without ACA limits on out-of-pocket costs.

• Nearly 140,000 Granite Staters’ health coverage will be at risk from ACA repeal. This includes over 54,000 people who signed up for ACA marketplace coverage in 2023 and over 88,000 enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage made available by the ACA.

• An additional 140,000 Granite Staters with Medicaid could lose critical services — or could even lose coverage altogether.

It’s clear: the MAGA agenda means higher health care costs and losses in coverage for hundreds of thousands of Granite Staters — especially seniors, working families, and people with pre-existing conditions.