New Hampshire § 167-67 - Section 167:67 Findings and Purpose.

§ 167-67. Section 167:67 Findings and Purpose.

I. The general court finds that at least 30,000 New Hampshire children lack health insurance. The lack of available, comprehensive maternity and child health services imposes a great cost, in both human and financial terms, on the citizens of this state. Both government and industry have long recognized the need for continual reinvestment in physical plant, public infrastructure, marketing, research and development, but less attention has been paid to the need for investment in our state's human resources. At a time when growing economic competition makes it essential that New Hampshire have a high quality work force, spending on programs to develop that work force is a necessary investment. II. That investment begins with healthy beginnings for children, including early and comprehensive prenatal care and comprehensive primary and preventive child health and developmental services. Equally important, maternal and child preventive health and child development programs are highly cost effective simply from the perspective of health care and special education cost avoidance. Studies show that modest investments in preventive programs today will reduce long-term health and welfare spending by the states tomorrow. Thus, the cost to New Hampshire of not providing adequate access to maternal and child health services can be measured in wasted lives, rising costs of remedial health and social programs, and a work force increasingly unprepared for the challenges of international economic competition. Recent federal legislation regarding medicaid coverage for low-income pregnant women and children has created an unparalleled opportunity for federal cost sharing in state programs that serve this high risk population. III. The purpose of this subdivision is to make a needed and strategic investment in this state's human resources by taking advantage of federally created options to obtain additional federal financial assistance by expanding medicaid eligibility for low income pregnant women and children. This subdivision also provides for improved outreach and enrollment of medicaid eligible pregnant women and children and improved coordination of medicaid services for pregnant women and children with other publicly-funded programs providing maternal and child health services.