New Hampshire Legislature to Consider 82 Health-Related Bills This Year
New Hampshire state lawmakers have filed 82 health care-related bills in the Legislature this year, but Foster's Daily Democrat calls the legislation "narrow and specific" and predicts "no major health initiative on the horizon." State Rep. Martha Fuller Clark (D) has proposed a 50-cent cigarette tax increase to fund an $83 million expansion of health benefits, including coverage for parents of children enrolled in the state's CHIP program, Healthy Kids. In addition, the bill would subsidize prescription drug payments for low-income seniors and the disabled, and provide health insurance for child care workers. Clark has put forth the proposal in conjunction with "similar efforts" in other New England states. Another bill, sponsored by state Rep. Howard Dickinson (R), would require physicians to provide cost estimates to patients before providing a service to allow patients to "shop around." The measure also requires providers to charge uninsured patients "no more than the provider's lowest contracted rate." According to Carolyn Virtue, a former lawmaker who originally introduced the bill, physicians may charge uninsured patients at higher rates than insured patients. In addition, the state has sought a Medicaid waiver that would allow New Hampshire to purchase drugs in bulk, "both by itself and with Maine and Vermont" (Sanders, Foster's Daily Democrat, 2/18).
'Biggest Battle'
However, New Hampshire lawmakers may face their "biggest battle" over parity for mental health services, the Daily Democrat reports. A state parity bill that passed in 1994 only included eight disorders, and mental health providers, joined by health advocates, have pushed for more extensive coverage. The New Hampshire Mental Health Coalition, composed of physicians and health reformers, has commissioned a study to determine the cost of expanding mental health benefits. According to the group, such an extension would increase premiums by only $1.24 per person per month, and less than 50 cents per month after the "insurance industry adjusts." A related bill would require insurers that provide alcohol and drug abuse treatment coverage to reimburse counselors "directly."
