By Shamecca Brown-Granite State News Collaborative
Let’s stop pretending.
New Hampshire’s motto is “Live Free or Die.” But if you’ve been to an ER in Manchester lately, you know there’s a third option they don’t put on the license plates: Live free, then pay the hospital bill for the next 20 years.
Here’s the part politicians don’t want to say out loud: Health care is now the #1 problem in America. Not inflation. Not immigration. Not crime. Health care. So what does “very big problem” actually mean when you live in Concord, Keene, Berlin – or anywhere else in this country?
It means families putting off care because they can’t afford it. It means people choosing between prescriptions and groceries. It means working Americans carrying insurance cards but still fearing the bill that comes after treatment.
That’s not freedom. That’s a hostage situation with a billing department.
Who’s actually in charge of your body?
Dr. Elizabeth Potter is a surgeon in Texas. Last year, UnitedHealthcare called her in the middle of a mastectomy. The patient was under anesthesia, chest open on the table, and someone from the insurance company called, wanting Dr. Potter to justify why the woman needed to stay overnight after the surgery.
Read that again: Your surgeon has your life in her hands, and your insurance company thinks that’s a good time to haggle.
Dr. Potter has spoken publicly about the experience and has since advocated for reforms that would give doctors more freedom to challenge insurance practices without fear of retaliation after United HealthCare after the company threatened her with a defamation lawsuit.
Think that can’t happen at Dartmouth-Hitchcock? At CMC? At Elliot? Ask your doctor how much time they spend on the phone with insurers instead of with you.
The math is rigged. Premiums go up. Deductibles go up. Out-of-pocket costs go up. And the “New Hampshire Advantage” doesn’t mean much when one unexpected medical emergency can wipe out a family’s savings.
You want to know what your tax dollars are doing while you’re choosing between your blood pressure medication and your electric bill? Every year, politicians tell us there isn’t enough money for affordable health care, mental health services, addiction treatment or food assistance. Somehow, there always seems to be money for everything else.
Today, Americans are bombarded with political theater while families struggle to afford insulin, chemotherapy and basic medical care.This is the “bread and circuses” part of the story – Roman emperors distracted people with entertainment while deeper problems went ignored.
Granite Staters hate being told what to do. I get it. We don’t like mandates. We don’t like lectures. We like to mind our own business. So here’s your business: You’re getting robbed.
You pay taxes. You pay premiums. You pay deductibles. You pay co-pays. Then you get a “surprise bill” because someone involved in your care was “out of network.” Then you spend months fighting charges you never saw coming – even though a federal law was supposed to get rid of the "surprise billing” practice.. That’s not a free market. That’s a racket. And while Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats blame Republicans, working families are left holding the bill.
So what do we do?
First, we stop letting insurance companies practice medicine. Doctors — not insurance executives — should decide what patients need.
Second, we end surprise billing for good. No family should be punished because of paperwork they never saw and choices they never had the ability to make.
Third, we start asking tougher questions of the people we elect. If politicians can find money for their priorities, why can’t they find solutions for the families choosing between healthcare and keeping the lights on?
The Granite State didn’t get its reputation by taking nonsense from anyone. We fought at Bunker Hill. We wrote one of the nation’s earliest constitutions. We pride ourselves on independence and common sense. We can certainly tell insurance companies that patient care comes before profits.
Until then, we have to endure our new motto: Live free. then pay the hospital bill. That’s not the New Hampshire I know. Is it the one you want?
Shamecca Brown is a New Hampshire-based columnist who is family-oriented and passionate about serving underserved communities. These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.