U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen Joins Health Care Leaders to Discuss Legislation to Prevent Rising Health Care Costs in NH

(Concord, NH) – On February 3, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen joined Granite State health care leaders to discuss the importance of preventing rising health care costs in New Hampshire. The event, hosted by New Futures, welcomed participants from across the state including Michele Merritt, President of New Futures; Greg White, CEO of Lamprey Health Care; and Susan Stearns, Executive Director of National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire.

“A staggering 71 percent, nearly three out of four people, have delayed or gone without necessary health care because of its costs,” said Michele Merritt of New Futures. “Those numbers aren’t just statistics. They represent real people in the Granite State—they are our friends, our neighbors, our families, our colleagues—who are being forced to make the impossible choice between their health and their financial stability.”

Senator Shaheen discussed her bicameral legislation, the Health Care Affordability Act, which would make permanent the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) for Marketplace coverage. If these credits are not extended, in New Hampshire alone, 10,000 Granite Staters would be priced out of their health insurance. The enhanced PTCs have led to record enrollment in ACA coverage, including more than 68,000 in New Hampshire, and a record low uninsured rate nationwide.

“For too many Americans, exorbitant costs are the biggest obstacle to purchasing health insurance leading to rationing medications and delaying appointments. Without an extension of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits, that will only get worse,” said Senator Shaheen. “My bill to extend these lifesaving tax credits was the first I introduced this Congress because we need to act now to protect access to health care and prevent costs from rising at the end of this year.”

The Health Care Affordability Act would make permanent the ACA PTCs for Marketplace coverage as passed in the American Rescue Plan Act and extended through the Inflation Reduction Act. Those enhanced tax credits increase the value of the tax credits available to people with income between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), while expanding eligibility for premium tax credits to include individuals with income above 400 percent of FPL.