NH: House passes Medicaid expansion bill, rejects marijuana legalization amendment
Thursday morning, legislation the House and Senate largely agree on – continuing expanded Medicaid – looked like it may become the most divisive.
Both chambers have shown strong support for continuing the program, which provides insurance to more than 60,000 lower-income Granite Staters who don’t qualify for traditional Medicaid. The program, 90 percent of which is paid for by the federal government, is set to end this year.
They disagree, however, on how long to extend it, with the Senate insisting it be made permanent and the House agreeing to a two-year extension.
Thursday the House members moved to leverage that divide by amending the Senate’s Medicaid expansion bill to include legislation legalizing marijuana, a House priority the Senate killed last week. In exchange, the amendment would give senators a permanent expansion of Granite Advantage, the state’s version of expanded Medicaid.
Rep. Andrew Prout, a Hudson Republican, reminded House members they have passed marijuana legalization bills several times. What they hadn’t done, he said, was “attach it to something important.”
https://newhampshirebulletin.com/briefs/house-passes-medicaid-expansion-bill-rejects-marijuana-legalization-amendment/
