Governor Chris Sununu: Healthcare and Voting Rights in New Hampshire

Governor Chris Sununu discusses Medicaid tax, rural healthcare, abortion laws, and TikTok lawsuit, prioritizing community-based care and healthcare worker pay.

### New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu's Views on Healthcare Funding, Abortion, TikTok Lawsuit, and Voting Rights
* 💰 Governor Chris Sununu defends his decision to redistribute Medicaid Enhancement Tax revenue from hospitals to community-based healthcare, arguing that it aligns with **citizens' needs** and secures a **better financial match with the federal government**.
* 🏥 Sununu highlights efforts to address rural healthcare challenges by **increasing Medicaid rates to attract healthcare workers in underserved areas**.
* 👶 He emphasizes the importance of **early childhood intervention** and **closing gaps in rural healthcare services**.
* 👶 On the abortion issue, Sununu states that New Hampshire's laws are **similar to neighboring states** and that neither Republican gubernatorial candidate plans to make **changes**.
* 📱 Regarding the state's lawsuit against TikTok, Sununu emphasizes the **importance of data-driven decisions**, citing the platform's **negative effects on children's mental health**.
* 🗳 Sununu expresses concerns about tightening voter ID laws close to an election, citing the challenges of **implementing a new system with limited time** before the primary and presidential election.

WANT, WITH THE FREE, VERY LOCAL APP. WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP ON AND OUR EXTENDED CONVERSATION WITH GOVERNOR CHRIS SUNUNU. GOVERNOR, YOU'VE BEEN IN AN ONGOING BATTLE WITH HOSPITALS ON A NUMBER OF FRONTS. BUT IN PARTICULAR OVER THE MEDICAID ENHANCEMENT TAX, WHICH GENERATES MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THIS IS KIND OF OBSCURE. YOU KNOW, THE STATE BRINGS THE MONEY IN IT, USES IT TO LEVERAGE MORE FEDERAL FUNDING, AND THEN SENDS THE MONEY BACK OUT TO THE HOSPITALS. AND THERE'S BEEN A HUGE DEBATE OVER THE CUT THAT THE HOSPITALS GET BACK. UH, I GUESS THE THE QUESTION IS THIS YOU KNOW, DO YOU THINK THE HOSPITALS ARE TRYING TO WAIT YOU OUT, ESSENTIALLY SAYING, HEY,

WELL, HE'S GOING TO BE LEAVING. WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO. OH, NO, THIS GOES INTO EFFECT NEXT WEEK. NO, IT GOES INTO EFFECT. THEY PAY THE TAX IN THE SPRING, RIGHT? SO THEY COULD. YEAH. AH. WELL LOOK, THE NEXT LEGISLATURE CAN DO WHAT THEY TRY TO CAN DO WHAT THEY DO. BUT WE'RE SETTING ALL OF OUR NEW MEDICAID RATES, WHICH ARE GOING TO GO UP, BY THE WAY, TO ALLOW NURSES TO GET PAID MORE, SOCIAL WORKERS TO GET PAID MORE, MORE MONEY INTO THE COMMUNITY. MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS, COMMUNITY-BASED FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS. LOOK, THIS IS AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY FOR 21ST CENTURY HEALTHCARE. DO WE DO WE WANT TO JUST PILE EVERY DOLLAR WE HAVE BACK INTO

THE OLD-FASHIONED HOPE. UH, HOSPITAL SYSTEM. WHERE EVERY TIME YOU STUB YOUR TOE, YOU'RE IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM, RIGHT? FOR YEARS, THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T WANT THAT. THEY'VE ACTIVELY SAID, WE DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING WITH MENTAL HEALTH. GET ALL YOUR MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. OKAY? FINE. COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTH. HUGE INVESTMENTS GOING THERE. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THE DOLLARS THERE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO PAY YOU FOR THE SERVICE. AND SO THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO SAY THE CITIZENS COME FIRST. COMMUNITY-BASED CARE COMES FIRST. AND WE GET A BETTER MATCH WITH THE WAY I'M DOING IT WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

THEY JUST WANT TO APPLY POLITICAL PRESSURE AND TO DRIVE MORE MONEY INTO THEIR SYSTEM. BUT UNDERSTAND, THE HOSPITALS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE MAKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN REVENUE. BILLIONS. WE'RE CUTTING. WE'RE MOVING ABOUT 25 MILLION. NOT GOING TO THE STATE COFFERS INTO COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH, A FRACTION OF A FRACTION OF A PERCENT TO HELP THE MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, TO HELP THE FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS, TO HELP NURSES GET BETTER PAY. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT EVERYBODY WANTS. THEY JUST WANT TO DO IT. THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY. BUT THIS IS AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE. YOU'RE AN ANTI-TAX GUY, THOUGH. THIS IS REDISTRIBUTIVE. YOU'RE TAKING THE HOSPITALS

MONEY AND YOU'RE GIVING TO SOMEBODY ELSE. THAT'S THE WAY IT'S ALWAYS DONE. THEY WANTED TO RAISE THE TAX TO 6%. I SAID, NO, WE'RE NOT RAISING TAXES. WE THEY GET TAXED. IT GETS MATCHED WITH FEDERAL DOLLARS AND A PERCENTAGE ALWAYS COMES BACK. I WAS WILLING TO COMPROMISE AT 91%. THAT'S WHAT THEY GOT LAST YEAR. RIGHT. IT'S MORE MONEY THAN THEY'VE EVER GOTTEN. WAY MORE THAN THEY EVER THOUGHT THEY'D EVER GET BEFORE. AND IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH. AND I SAID EID EITHER TAKE THE COMPROMISE IN THE LEGISLATURE OR WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK TO 80%, WHICH IS MORE APPROPRIATE AND ALLOWS MORE, MORE FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY. THEY DIDN'T WANT 91%.

THEY DIDN'T WANT WE OFFERED THEM MORE THAN THEY GOT LAST YEAR. THEY SAID, NO, OKAY, FINE, WE'LL DO IT THIS WAY. AND SO I THINK IT'S GREAT. I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD BE REALLY EXCITED THAT WE'RE NOT DOING IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY. WE'RE NOT. YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, AGAIN, TRYING TO DRIVE EVERYONE TO EMERGENCY ROOMS ANYMORE. YOU HAVE ALL THESE EMERGENCY EMERGENT CARE CENTERS ALL ACROSS THE STATE, ALL THIS OPPORTUNITY. WE WANT HEALTH CARE WORKERS SPREAD OUT. WE WANT THEM IN OUR COUNTIES AND OUR COMMUNITIES BETTER CONNECTION. I THINK IT'S JUST AWESOME. YOU MENTIONED THE THE RURAL HEALTH CARE IS OBVIOUSLY BEEN AN ISSUE IN PARTICULAR. YOU KNOW, THESE MATERNITY CARE DESERTS AND THIS IS AN ISSUE

THAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, BUT IN PARTICULAR NEW HAMPSHIRE. YOU TALK A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTION. YOU KNOW, ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES. IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE BEGINNING OF THOSE BAD THINGS HAPPENING IN SOME WAYS COULD BE, YOU KNOW, MOM HAVING TO DRIVE TWO HOURS TO GET AN OB APPOINTMENT. IS THERE MORE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ON THIS, NOT JUST THE NEXT GOVERNOR, THE NEXT LEGISLATURE? WELL, THE KEY WITH SOME OF THE LACK OF SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS, WHICH IS A REAL SERIOUS ISSUE. IT'S ABOUT HEALTH. IT'S ABOUT WORKFORCE. RIGHT. SO THE FACT THAT WHEN N I BECAME GOVERNOR, THEY SAID, YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO PAY NURSES IN

THE MEDICAID WORLD. UH, THE SAME AS A, AS A TYPICAL MARKET RATE. BUT NOW WE'RE WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO IN NEXT MONTH. WE'RE GOING TO BRING CONTRACTS TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL THAT MOVE A LOT OF THOSE RATES CLOSE TO A MARKET RATE. SOMETHING WE WERE TOLD COULD NEVER HAPPEN. THAT ALLOWS THE CAUSSES AND THE GRAFTONS TO KIND OF ATTRACT THOSE NURSES. ATTRACT THOSE SOCIAL WORKERS. THOSE HEALTH CARE WORKERS THAT THEY TYPICALLY WEREN'T ABLE TO ATTRACT IN THEORY. HOPEFULLY CLOSING SOME OF THOSE GAPS IN TERMS OF THE RURAL SPECIALIZATION THAT WE WANT TO SEE. THE ABORTION ISSUE. OBVIOUSLY. IT'S AN ELECTION YEAR THAT'S COMING BACK IN A BIG WAY.

YOUR PARTY IS ANNOUNCING IT WANTS TO GO ON OFFENSE HERE AND START EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT THE LAW IN NEW HAMPSHIRE REALLY IS. DO YOU THINK THAT'S TROUBLE FOR THEM, THOUGH? BECAUSE THE PARTY PLATFORM IS STILL QUOTE, WE SUPPORT THE PREBORN CHILD'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO LIFE IN PERSONHOOD. NO. WELL, NOBODY CARES ABOUT PARTY PLATFORMS WHEN IT COMES TO VOTING. THE LAWS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE ON ABORTION ARE SIMILAR TO PRETTY MUCH EVERY STATE AROUND US. NO, NONE OF THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES WANT TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THAT. THE DEMOCRATS HAVE NO REAL ISSUE. THEY'RE TRYING TO SCARE PEOPLE ON IT A LITTLE BIT. AND I THINK THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS SIMPLY SAYING, LOOK, IT'S IT'S REALLY SIMPLE HERE.

OUR LAWS ARE BASICALLY THE SAME AS NEW YORK AND MASSACHUSETTS. THERE'S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY WITH REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS. WE RESPECT THAT. WE WANT TO MAINTAIN IT. AND WE DON'T WANT TO CHANGE IT. DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO SCARE EVERYBODY. YOU KNOW, INTO THINKING SOMETHING DRASTIC IS GOING TO CHANGE. BUT BOTH REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR ARE JUST LIKE ME. THEY'RE LIKE WHERE I AM IN TERMS OF THE LAW IS GOOD. WE'RE NOT MAKING CHANGES. LET'S FOCUS ON KEEPING NEW HAMPSHIRE SUCCESSFUL WITH THE ECONOMY AND OPPORTUNITIES LOCALLY AND LIMITED GOVERNMENT AND LOW TAXES, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT MAKE US GREAT. IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT ISSUE, BUT THAT ISSUE IS SETTLED AND WE'RE NOT

LOOKING TO CHANGE IT. THE STATE JUST FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST TIKTOK. WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN, YN, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLC SQUARE, FREE SPEECH, AND WHEN PEOPLE START HARMING CHILDREN? SO I'M A DATA GUY. SO ONE THING I GIVE OUR ATTORNEY GENERAL, JOHN FORMELLA, A LOT OF CREDIT. HE MADE SURE HIS TEAM LOOKED AT THE DATA, AND IT WAS CLEARLY DRIVEN BY DATA THAT THERE WAS MANIPULATION, TARGETING OF CHILDREN. UM, THAT CLEARLY HAD NEGATIVE ADVERSE EFFECTS IN TERMS OF MENTAL HEALTH. UM, IT COULD BE BODY IMAGE ISSUES FOR, FOR YOUNG WOMEN, PEER PRESSURE ISSUES, AND BULLYING FOR YOUNG MEN ALL ACROSS THAT SPECTRUM. SO THEY LOOKED AT THE DATA. AND THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO GO

ON. I MEAN, IT'S A GUT FEELING THAT YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOCIAL MEDIA, GO, SOMETHING AIN'T RIGHT HERE, RIGHT? SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT. UM, BUT THEY GOT IT INTO IT, AND WE'RE ONE OF THE FIRST STATES TO KIND OF LEAD THE CHARGE ON IT. I THINK IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK TIKTOK IS GOING TO BE AROUND FOR A WHILE, AS IS FACEBOOK AND ALL THESE OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES. UM, I THINK YOUNG PEOPLE ARE MAKING. THE FACT THAT I JUST BROUGHT UP FACEBOOK RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF OLD SCHOOL, BUT THEY'RE GOING TO BE AROUND. SO LET'S MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ACCOUNTABLE. THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE, AND THEY KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO BAD

PRACTICES. I WANT TO WRAP UP WITH VOTING RIGHTS. YOU'VE GOT A BILL HEADED TO YOUR DESK THAT WOULD END ALL EXCEPTIONS TO THE VOTER ID LAW. UH, YOU KNOW, THE AFFIDAVIT BALLOT THING WENT INTO EFFECT, AND SEEMED TED TO WORK PRETTY W. IS IT WORTH TIGHTENING THE KNOT A LITTLE BIT MORE ON VOTER INTEGRITY? I DON'T MIND THE LAW, BUT I DON'T LIKE THE TIMING TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WITH ONLY A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO GO BEFORE THE PRIMARY AND WHAT IS LIKELY TO BE A CLOSE AND CONTENTIOUS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, UM, TO GET EVERYBODY TRAINED IN TERMS OF A NEW SYSTEM, THAT'S MY BIGGEST CONCERN. SO I'LL TAKE A LOOK AT IT. IT'S NOT QUITE MADE IT TO MY

DESK YET, BUT THE IMPLEMENTATION. I'M THE I'M THE CEO. I'M THE EXECUTIVE. I'M THE MANAGER. I GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE DO CAN BE ACHIEVED. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW. ALL RIGHT, GOVERNOR CHRIS SUNUNU. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. WE APPRECIATE IT. THAT WRAPS UP THIS EDITION OF CLOSE UP NEW HAMPSHIRE. THANANKS FOR WATCHING. MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE POLITICS PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE AND MOBILE APP FOR MORE IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS. AND TO SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER. WE'LL BE BACK NEXT WEEK. HAVE A G

Gov. Chris Sununu signals hesitancy over voting law bill | CloseUp

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Governor Chris Sununu's Ongoing Battle with Hospitals

The governor is in a dispute with hospitals over the Medicaid Enhancement Tax, which generates millions of dollars and is used to leverage more federal funding.

He is using the tax revenue to increase Medicaid rates and invest in 21st-century healthcare, prioritizing community-based care and mental health services over traditional hospital care.

The governor's approach aims to put citizens first and obtain a better match with the federal government for healthcare funding.

Political Pressure and Hospital Revenue in New Hampshire

New Hampshire is making billions in hospital revenue, but only a fraction is being allocated to community-based health, mental health centers, and better pay for nurses.

The governor is resisting a tax raise, offering a compromise of 91%, but the legislature is not satisfied and wants more, leading to a redistribution of hospital money.

The focus is on creating better financial opportunities and improving healthcare access across the state, especially in rural areas and maternity care deserts.

Improving Healthcare and Addressing Abortion Laws in New Hampshire

Efforts are being made to improve healthcare services in rural areas by increasing the rates for nurses and healthcare workers.

The goal is to attract more professionals and close the gaps in rural specialization.

The abortion issue in New Hampshire is not a priority for the Republican party, as the current laws are not targeted for any changes, despite the Democrats' efforts to use it as a scare tactic.

New Hampshire Governor on Reproductive Rights, Lawsuits Against TikTok, and Social Media Regulation

New Hampshire's governor and Republican candidates are committed to maintaining the state's flexible reproductive rights laws without making any changes.

The state has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, citing data-driven evidence of the app's negative effects on children's mental health.

The governor emphasizes the importance of holding social media platforms accountable and responsible, especially in their impact on the younger generation.

The governor is considering a bill to end all exceptions to the voter ID law, but he is concerned about the timing so close to the upcoming primary and presidential election.

He wants to ensure that implementing a new system with such little time is achievable as the CEO and manager.

The governor's decision on the bill is pending, with a focus on voter integrity and practicality.