ICYMI: Pappas Talks Health Care Affordability, Policy Solutions in Conway
CONWAY, NH — In case you missed it, Congressman Chris Pappas visited White Mountain Community Health Center in Conway for a tour and discussion with staff about how Donald Trump’s health care policies are prioritizing corporate special interests and driving up costs for Granite Staters.
White Mountain Community Health Center provides the community with affordable, accessible, and high-quality health care. But Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington are making the health care crisis worse by cutting Medicaid — leading to rural health center closures across New Hampshire — and eliminating the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, which will force Granite Staters to pay even more for health care.
Chris knows that our existing health care system is rigged against everyday Granite Staters as it favors profits for insurance companies and Big Pharma over delivering the care people need to survive. He’s running for Senate to stand up to insurance companies and their army of lawyers and lobbyists that indiscriminately deny coverage while reaping record profits. He will work to hold insurance companies and big pharmaceutical companies accountable for soaring prices and diminishing care, and he will fight to restore the ACA premium credits Republicans ended.
Read quotes from the event below:
“This isn’t theoretical. We’re talking about tens of thousands of Granite Staters and Granite State families that are facing skyrocketing premiums or are at risk of dropping their insurance coverage because it just becomes unaffordable,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “These are real people and we’re all better off as a community, as a state, if everyone’s covered and can continue to get care — and we all pay more if they’re not able to.”
“This facility is critically needed in the Valley, as many individuals would have limited or no access to health care without White Mountain Community Health Center,” said Audrey Goudie, White Mountain Community Health Center Executive Director. “Our goal is to be a place where people can always turn to for the care they not just need — but the care they deserve.”
“I have an ACA plan because I work here part-time, so I don’t qualify for health insurance. With the enhanced tax credits, it was truly affordable,” said Siena Kaplan-Thompson, White Mountain Community Health Center Director of Communications and Development and a former ACA Navigator. “Now, our premium has more than doubled. It would have tripled, but we dropped to a plan with a higher deductible. It’s a lot of extra money when we’re already feeling squeezed. It’s going to be very difficult for a lot of people who are already really struggling. I have friends who are choosing to go without health insurance because they can’t afford the higher premiums this year.”
“I have my own practice in Intervale and then I work here at the health center on Fridays. I had to cancel my insurance through the Marketplace because it was going to be over $800 a month, and that’s the cheapest plan with a $7,500 out of pocket deductible,” said Valerie Lozier, PSY D., FNP-BC. “And I hear it all the time from my patients here and at my other clinic.”
“This is a community health center, and we help people who have limited access to medical care receive the care they need. But this year has been incredibly difficult, and I think a lot of people weren’t sure what was going to happen until the new year, so we really didn’t see the full effect of it until January,” said Josie Lamb, APRN. “Almost every day I talk with someone who either lost insurance, is concerned they’re about to lose insurance, or they’re teetering on the edge of eligibility for different programs, and their status changes from month to month, which is really challenging.”
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