Congressman Hodes Applauds Federal Grant for Expanded Health Care Access

For Immediate Release

July 22, 2008

Contact:        Mark Bergman

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  202-225-5206

Congressman Hodes Applauds Federal Grant for Expanded Health Care Access

Washington, DC—Congressman Paul Hodes applauded the US Department of Health and Human Services for awarding New Hampshire an $882,252 grant to help expand health care access for working New Hampshire families. The grant will go to the New Hampshire Health Plan which helps insure high risk applicants who otherwise would have gone uninsured.

“Expanding access to health care is critical for working New Hampshire families struggling in the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch, record gas prices and rising food costs,” Congressman Paul Hodes said. “Without this vital program, thousands of New Hampshire families would remain uninsured. I applaud this grant and believe it will help the New Hampshire Health Plan expand access to vital health care services for the uninsured.”

The New Hampshire Health Plan currently serves 1,122 people.  These are people who would be uninsured otherwise because other plans have determined they are “medically uninsurable”.  This additional grant will help the program cover additional uninsured Granite Staters.

“The New Hampshire Health Plan (NHHP) received notification yesterday that they are the recipient of a grant from the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services for $882,252. The grant will be used for two purposes. The first is to offset operational losses from calendar year 2007 and the second is to implement programs that will be beneficial to the eligible population. Over the next 30 days, the NHHP Board will determine the most effective utilization of these grant dollars,” said Executive Director J. Michael Degnan.

New Hampshire has a risk pool program that went into effect on July 1, 2002 called the New Hampshire Health Plan.  The high risk pool offers health coverage for persons who are HIPAA eligible and for people with expensive health conditions who are unable to buy individual coverage.