If you are concerned about a lack of government transparency, check out this website – http://whyaretheyhiding.com/hassan/

http://nhjournal.com/rick-perry-sixth-likely-potus-candidate-to-confirm-appearance-at-nhgops-fitn-summit/

Posted By John DiStaso on Feb 26, 2015

The New Hampshire Journal has learned that former Texas Gov. Rick Perry Thursday night became the sixth likely presidential candidate to confirm an appearance at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s “First-in-the-Nation” Republican Leadership Summit, scheduled for April 17 and 18 in Nashua.

“As always, Governor Perry is excited to come to New Hampshire to help highlight the importance of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary,” said Perry’s top New Hampshire advisor, Michael Dennehy. “He continues his monthly visits to the state in an effort to showcase his vision — a vision where America’s greatest years are just ahead.”

NHGOP chairman Jennifer Horn said, “We are pleased to announce that Governor Rick Perry will be joining the New Hampshire Republican Party for our First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit. Republicans are looking forward to hearing about Governor Perry’s strong record in Texas and his vision for our country. Governor Perry will add a unique perspective as one of our nation’s longest serving and most successful governors.”

Perry was in New Hampshire on Feb. 11 and 12, and is scheduled to return on March 11 and 12. One of his stops in March will be an appearance at the traditional “Politics and Eggs” breakfast.

For the April event, which will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Perry will join other confirmed speakers Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton.

Nursing homes push back on cuts

By PAUL FEELY
New Hampshire Union Leader

CONCORD — Health care administrators and nursing home owners in New Hampshire plan to ask state legislators to take action to prevent a proposed $7 million reduction in Medicaid reimbursement rates.

The reduction was unveiled by Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick Toumpas before the Legislative Fiscal Committee on Jan. 23 to help address a $58 million shortfall in the department’s budget. The shortfall is due to a federal change making more low-income children eligible for Medicaid, a settlement over the state’s mental health system and start-up costs associated with the Medicaid expansion program.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Jeanie Forrester, R-Meredith, and representatives from nursing homes across the state were slated to discuss the effect the reduction would have on New Hampshire nursing homes at a news conference Monday, but the event was canceled due to the impending storm. Organizers plan to reschedule.

In 2013, state legislators voted to approve a set spending level for DHHS, including an amount appropriated to nursing homes to cover the cost of care provided to residents covered by Medicaid. Last July, the previous year’s budget overage was slated to be carried over into the current fiscal year to offset the Medicaid reimbursement rate, which is already below the cost of providing care, according to John Poirier, president and CEO of the NH Health Care Association.

Poirier said the carryover is mandated by a footnote in the budget, but this year when nursing homes received their Jan. 1 reimbursement rates, the funds were not included in their rates.

“This rate-setting formula is designated by law. When setting their budgets, DHHS states that there is not enough money available to pay the rates calculated using this law and they reduce nursing home rates by almost 30 percent to create a rate that they can ‘afford’,” Poirier said. “Now, DHHS is telling the legislature that there are excess funds available from the nursing home reimbursement line item that can be used elsewhere. Both of these statements can’t be true.”

According to Poirier, reductions could range from $30,000 to $40,000 for smaller nursing homes, to as much as $500,000 for the largest ones.

“We do not have the option of ceasing to provide care to these residents, as this is morally and legally unacceptable,” said Patricia Ramsey, owner of The Edgewood Centre in Portsmouth. “I do not understand how Governor Hassan, Commissioner Toumpas, and DHHS can make this decision to take away money from the residents, among the frailest and most impoverished in the state, and the people who care for them. Not only are we required by regulation to provide exceptional care to our residents — our residents and their families expect and deserve exceptional care. How can we continue providing this quality care when we are continuously underpaid for providing it?”

“There are four nursing homes in my district, three county homes and one private one,” Senate Finance Chairman Forrester said. “I believe they will face around $700,000 in reductions in Medicaid funds because of the governor’s cuts, the largest being to the Grafton County nursing home at about $277,000.”

Forrester said she filed a late bill last week that would amend the state’s 2014-15 operating budget regarding transferring funds for nursing home services.

“I think that would put a stop to this,” Forrester said. “There seems to be support for it, from others I’ve spoken with.”

Brian Newman, executive director of the Courville at Manchester nursing home, said his facility faces an estimated $65,000 reduction in Medicaid funds.

“To be honest with you, at this point we’re not sure what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’re probably looking at staff cuts or wage reductions, looking at lower quality food services or a reduction in benefits. We’re not sure what we’ll end up doing, except hoping the governor changes her mind.”

“These funds were promised in a budget signed by the governor, and one quite frankly she has taken a lot of credit for,” Forrester said. “This is not about Republicans and Democrats. This is about keeping a promise.”

If you have any questions, please let us know. Again, we will keep you update on this immportant matter.

House Republican Office

New Hampshire House of Representatives

State House Room 313, Concord, NH 03301

Phone: 603-271-3665

Fax: 603-271-8566
Email: HouseRepublicans@leg.state.nh.us

Twitter: @nhhousegop

Facebook: facebook.com/nhhousegop

Congratulations to Dave Roark, this year’s Norris Cotton Award winner. You may not be aware of Dave’s contributions to our committee, because he never calls attention to himself or asks for credit. He just works hard, doing the things that need doing.

This past election cycle, there was an event to set up for. I was feeling the stress of a long campaign season, not having the resources I needed, and feeling a little overwhelmed. I had been worried about not having signs to represent our candidates. I actually gave up. Without me knowing, Dave found signs somewhere and brought them.

When I was trying to recruit candidates for our District 4 seat, Dave fed me a steady stream of information and research on potential candidates, including prior public service, board memberships, etc. Even more valuable, he gave me information regarding who I should not waste my time on. I would not have gotten through all the calls I made without his help.

Dave took time off from his job to help with our recount in Concord.

When Joe Osgood ran for a Senate seat that everyone said should not have any resources wasted on it, Dave stepped up to help Joe.

These are only a few examples of the many times Dave has quietly refused to sit down or step back. Whether asked or not, he always shows up to get done whatever needs doing. I’m grateful for his help, and we should all be proud to count him among our members.

Thank you Dave, for everything.

Jack Flanagan: Republican priorities in the NH House

By REP. JACK FLANAGAN

Every two years, the people of New Hampshire turns their attention to the new Legislature and its majority party. What policy initiatives and campaign promises will likely be carried forward as part of the legislative agenda of that majority party?

Many of us campaigned on the simple, overarching goal of making New Hampshire an even better place to live, work, raise a family, and do business. But achieving this goal requires careful work in a multitude of complex policy areas.

In December, the House Republican Caucus gathered for the purpose of discussing problems facing the state, and to set goals on how to best address these problems through good legislation. This collaborative discussion allowed the caucus members to voice their thoughts, suggestions, and proposals based on the concerns they’ve heard from their constituents.

Through this discussion, the Republican Caucus developed an agenda that covers several distinct policy areas, carefully prioritized in order to develop common-sense legislation that will address each of these areas.

The Republican majority intends to produce and support a fiscally responsible, balanced state budget without new taxes or fees. It will be a budget based on realistic revenue estimates, without any bonding or accounting gimmicks, and will not downshift costs to property taxpayers or raid dedicated funds.

We are committed to improving our state’s business climate by reducing and reforming our business taxes, which remain among the highest in the nation, and reducing burdensome regulations. We will promote policies to retain existing businesses and help them grow, as well as attract new businesses, thus helping our private sector create new and better-paying jobs.

We will work to find efficiencies throughout state government that will save taxpayer dollars, while working to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. We will fight to increase accountability and transparency of all state agencies, programs, and departments to ensure they are good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

We are committed to reducing our public employee pension system’s $4.6 billion unfunded liability and reform the system in a way that protects current retirees, taxpayers, and ensures we have a solvent retirement system for future generations.

New Hampshire’s Rainy Day fund has a balance of just $9.3 million, which is not enough to run our state government for more than 2 days. House Republicans will continue to identify ways to increase the fund balance, which, in turn, will bolster our state’s financial security and credit rating.

We will work to increase local control of education curriculum and testing, and promote policies that increase parental involvement in their children’s education. We will also continue to support policies that promote school choice and maintain funding for charter schools.

We are committed to controlling the cost of higher education by working with our university and community college system to ensure that taxpayer dollars are applied in a manner that directly affects the quality and affordability of education for in-state students. A well educated workforce will help attract new industry and help New Hampshire retain its college graduates and young professionals.

New Hampshire’s high energy costs hurt family budgets, increase the costs of goods and services, and impede economic growth. We intend to support legislation that eliminates unnecessary mandates increases the cost of energy production, and work with local communities and utilities to find the best way to increase the supply and delivery of low-cost energy options.

House Republicans are also proud to fight for preserving and increasing personal rights and liberties and reducing government overreach. We will ensure that the Second Amendment rights of our citizens are not infringed upon, we will strive to preserve and protect the integrity of our elections and increase privacy protections for all citizens.

We are committed to supporting health care policies rooted in free-market principles that will increase freedom in health care decisions and lower insurance premiums for individuals and businesses. We will take steps to end our involvement in Obamacare Medicaid expansion and continue to find ways to enable the best health care access possible without unnecessary or unfunded state and federal mandates.

We believe this agenda accurately reflects many of the positions that Republicans campaigned on throughout 2014. We have listened to our constituents and they have expressed what they believe should be our priorities over the next two years. We look forward continued input from the people who sent us to the State House as we work to apply common sense, fiscally responsible solutions to our State’s evolving needs.

Rep. Jack Flanagan, R-Brookline, is majority leader of the New Hampshire House.