U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) speaks with Chief Operating Officer Joseph Manzoli during her tour of the newly-renovated Early Education Center at the YMCA of Greater Nashua on March 2. Telegraph photo by CHRISTOPHER ROBERSON

RAYMOND – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan hosted a conversation with health care leaders at Lamprey Health Care in Raymond to discuss the recent decline in Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment and the ways in which the Trump Administration’s actions are straining the health care system and increasing costs for Granite Staters.

Last year, President Trump and Congressional Republicans made massive cuts to Medicaid and allowed tax cuts for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act to expire, raising health insurance costs for all Americans. New data shows that since then, ACA health insurance enrollment has fallen by at least 13 percent nationwide and 7.8 percent in New Hampshire.

“President Trump and Congressional Republicans chose to make Americans’ health care premiums more expensive in order to give billionaires and corporate special interests a tax break. Now, we’re seeing the consequences of that decision, with enrollment in Affordable Care Act health insurance already down by almost eight percent in New Hampshire and that number is likely to grow,” said Senator Hassan. “I was grateful to hear from the doctors and health care leaders at Lamprey Health Care about how these higher costs are affecting their patients, and I will continue to advocate for solutions that bring down the cost of health care for Granite Staters.”

During the conversation, doctors and other health care leaders at Lamprey Health Care highlighted how President Trump’s decision to take health care away from millions of Americans has caused patients to delay care, and it has raised health care costs for all Americans.

Senator Hassan continues to push for the full restoration of the Affordable Care Act’s tax cuts that helped make health insurance more affordable for families. At the end of last year, Senator Hassan sounded the alarm on the floor of the Senate about the impending expiration of these tax cuts, warning that millions of people would lose their health insurance and costs would go up for all Americans. Ultimately, Senate Republicans rejected a proposal to restore these tax cuts.