Sununu leads GOP govs calling for end to COVID emergency

Dec. 20—CONCORD — Gov. Chris Sununu led a group of 25 Republican governors who on Monday urged President Joe Biden to end the public health emergency for COVID-19.

Sununu said keeping the emergency in place is costing state taxpayers "hundreds of millions of dollars" to support Medicaid health coverage to families, including many who may no longer need it.

The public health emergency "is negatively affecting states, primarily by artificially growing our population covered under Medicaid (both traditional and expanded populations), regardless of whether individuals continue to be eligible under the program," Sununu and the other governors wrote in their letter.

The current public health emergency expires Jan. 11, but Sununu said state governors are operating on the assumption that Biden will grant another 90-day extension, which would take it to April.

Medicaid is the federal-state health insurance program for low-income families, the disabled and senior citizens. The state splits the cost of the coverage with the federal government.

When COVID-19 hit, enrollment jumped as the state's unemployment rate shot up from 2.5% to 17% in a few months.

Over an 18-month period through 2021, Medicaid rolls grew by nearly 43,000, a 25% increase.

Sununu said that nationwide, Medicaid rolls have grown by 20 million, roughly 30%, since the start of the pandemic.

In response, Congress approved in its first COVID relief law a 6.2% bonus payment from federal grants under Medicaid to help states deal with the soaring enrollments.

Through the end of 2021, New Hampshire's share of the bonus was $350 million.

$10M a month for NH

Sununu said he believes as many as 30,000 on Medicaid may not need it and would be better served on other programs, such as the federally managed Obamacare health insurance program, which offers lower premiums.

The state hired a contractor to help the Department of Health and Human Services contact those on Medicaid and determine how many would not need the coverage once the federal COVID emergency ends.

Outgoing HHS Commissioner Lori Shibinette informed the Executive Council last week the agency has confirmed that 29,000 still on Medicaid are ineligible to remain in the program once the COVID emergency is over.

Another 35,000 have not complied with the state's request that they verify that their current income still makes them eligible, Shibinette said in a request to amend the state's existing Medicaid managed-care contracts with three vendors.

The cost of keeping 30,000 ineligible clients on the rolls is about $10.5 million a month.

"Making the situation worse, we know that a considerable number of individuals have returned to employer-sponsored coverage or are receiving coverage through the individual market, and yet states must still account and pay for their Medicaid enrollment in our non-federal share," Sununu wrote.

"This is costing states hundreds of millions of dollars."

In the letter, Sununu noted Biden had declared at one point that "the pandemic is over," a statement that administration officials said soon afterward did not represent a change in policy.

On Nov. 15, the U.S. Senate voted 61-37 in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the national emergency.

According to the roll call vote, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was one of 12 Senate Democrats who voted with all present Senate Republicans in support of the resolution. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., opposed it.

"The governors argue that while the virus still exists, the country is no longer in a medical emergency," Sununu wrote.

The three Republican governors who did not sign onto Sununu's letter were Phil Scott of Vermont, Larry Hogan of Maryland and Jim Justice of West Virginia.

Hogan is actively exploring a 2024 presidential run.

Justice is governor of one of the poorest states in the nation, which receives much more federal support for Medicaid than New Hampshire.

Zandra Rice Hawkins of Granite State Progress said expanded Medicaid eligibility during the pandemic was a lifesaver and state policymakers need to ensure those moved off the program find an affordable alternative.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates the end of the COVID emergency could move 5-to-14 million Americans off Medicaid, she said.

"People can't afford to be without coverage whether there is a pandemic or not. Access to quality, affordable coverage through Medicaid is a cornerstone of good health and economic security for millions of people and a significant number of New Hampshire families," Rice Hawkins said in a statement.

"The pandemic era Medicaid expansion revealed how reducing administrative bureaucracy can help people stay covered, and that's a lesson worth carrying forward into the future to reduce churn and gaps in coverage."

Rebuild NH praised the letter, while noting it criticized many of the same steps Sununu took in response to the pandemic, including business lockdowns and months of remote learning in public schools.

"Interesting. We at RebuildNH certainly agree, but would like to add we were the first calling for an end to the NH COVID emergency because we don't believe in an indefinite suspension of a constitutional form of government," the group said in a statement.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.

klandrigan@unionleader.com