Overview
Jeanie Holt - Policy Committee Co-Chair
 

Well, we're talking budget this week-surprise?? On Thursday, June 11, Marie Mulroy, Abby Shockley (NHPHA Board member) and I attended a press conference on the budget organized by NH Cares. The conference featured five speakers: Travis Harker, MD, NH Medical Society, Ken Norton, NAMI-NH, Tym Rourke, Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Drugs, Ken Roos, State Employees Association, and Jeff McLynch, NH Fiscal Policy Institute. I haven't attended many press conferences so I don't have much to base a judgement on...but this one was GOOD! First, Dr. Harker highlighted the medical issues faced by three of his patients who came to his practice because of the NH Health Protection Program (Medicaid expansion). He explained why it was medically important that they continue to receive care. But more than that, he talked about their anxiety at the idea that as of January 1, 2017, they may not have coverage and how that anxiety interferes with their health. And he talked about his own struggles as the practice manager to plan for addressing the future needs on the practice without assurance that the 1,000 new NHHPP will be continuing care with him and his colleagues.

 

Ken Norton talked about the number of mentally ill patients waiting in emergency rooms around the state, sometimes for up to a week, before space is available for treatment at New Hampshire Hospital. He framed this in a way that I hadn't thought about before (though I should have!). A mental illness is no different from any other illness-yet we continue to treat people with these health problems as second-class citizens. Ken pointed out that we would not tolerate telling a person with heart disease who came in the ED with chest pain that she has to wait for days before being admitted to the specialty care she needs to diagnose and treat her disease.

 

Ken touched on the connections between mental illness and substance misuse. Tym picked up on that theme and pointed out that, like mental illness, addiction is a disease and NH is 49th in the United States in its ability to provide treatment for addiction illnesses. "And that's not good enough!" Tym said. So, people die. The real tragedy, though, is that in 2000, we adopted a tax on liquor that was designated to be used for alcohol misuse treatment. I did not know this so his remarks on this fund particularly caught my attention. Each year, the amount of this fund that is raided to pay other bills increases. If even half the fund, $8.5 million in FY16-17, went to its designated purpose the number of people who could receive addictions treatment would skyrocket. You can read Tym's remarks here.

 

I also did not realize until this week that the Governor's budget had included the pay raises NH agreed to in contract talks with the state employees union. These raises were cut from both the House and Senate budgets. Ken Roos talked about how many hard-working state employees are losing faith in the negotiating process because of these kind of broken promises.

 

Finally, Jeff McLynch highlighted what a couple other speakers alluded to: don't tell us we have to accept this budget because we have to live within our means-and then decrease those means. Jeff also MCed the press conference and summarized all the points made. The press release from the Fiscal Policy Institute is available here.

 

So what's the bottom line? NH Cares (and NHPHA) asks (demands!) that the Committee of Conference:

  • Restore the funding for mental health and substance misuse treatment, for the state employee's negotiated pay raise, for NH's small share of the cost of the NH Health Protection Program, and other critical expenses included in the Governor's budget;
  • Reauthorize the NHHPP;
  • And eliminate proposed tax cuts unless they are revenue neutral.

Action Alert

The Committee of Conference on the budget is reportedly meeting every day this week from 10 am to 6 pm. Do one of the following:

  • Action Option 1:Please contact as many members the Committee of Conference (listed below) before 6/17/15 and tell them that the proposed tax cut is not good for NH and the health of its people; that we desperately need the mental health and substance misuse treatment funding that was in the Governor's budget; and that reauthorizing and budgeting for NH Health Protection Program is critical for the working families of NH. If you are talking with a Senator, you can also thank him/her for restoring some of the cuts the House had made. Or you can use this week's and the last couple weeks of blog posts to craft your own message.
  • Action Option 2: Contact your own Senator or Representative with the same message. Even if they are not on the Committee of Conference, they will eventually vote on the budget AND they can put pressure on CoC members.
  • Action Option 3: Spread the word through forwarding this e-mail, talking to friends and neighbors, or writing a letter to the editor of your local paper.

Whatever action you choose, do it today!

 

House

Kurk, Neal M. (R)

529-7253

[email protected]

House

Ober, Lynne M. (R)

883-9654

[email protected]

House

Umberger, Karen C. (R)

356-6881

[email protected]

House

Wallner, Mary Jane (D)

225-5249

[email protected]

House

Jasper, Shawn N. (R)

 595-9621

[email protected]

House

Barry, Richard W. (R)

880-3731

[email protected]

House

Weyler, Kenneth L. (R)

642-3518

[email protected]

House

McGuire, Dan (R)

782-4918

[email protected]

House

Eaton, Daniel A. (D)

446-3535

[email protected]

House

Leishman, Peter R. (D)

924-0004

[email protected]

House

Major, Norman L. (R)

382-5429

[email protected]

House

Almy, Susan W. (D)

448-4769

[email protected]

Senate

Forrester, Jeanie L (R)

279-1459

[email protected]

Senate

Little, Gerald H. (R)

660-2248

[email protected]

Senate

Morse, Chuck W (R)

271-8472

[email protected]

Senate

D'Allesandro, Lou (D)

669-3494

[email protected]

Senate

Reagan, John (R)

463-5945

[email protected]

Senate

Hosmer, Andrew J. (D)

271-8631

[email protected]

 

NH Budget Updates
By Kary Jencks and Karen Kelly, NH Citizens's Alliance

Over the past several weeks we have been referring you to the NH Fiscal Policy Institute for more explanation of the impact of the budget proposals. This week, we have explanation from Kary Jencks and Karen Kelly from NH Citizen's Alliance, explaining the Alliance's analysis of the budget. . .

 

Read the full article on the NHPHA Blog

Senate and House Updates

Bills that the NHPHA Public Policy Committee are following are not scheduled to see action this week.