Lebanon
Negron, a state representative from Nashua, said he would vote to repeal the landmark health care law passed during the Obama administration if elected in November to represent New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District. In its place, he advocated for a system more dependent on competition and the free market, but he offered no specifics.
“I’m against the Affordable Care Act from the very simplistic point that it’s so expensive,” Negron told about two dozen doctors, nurses and administrators on Wednesday morning at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. “And I’m against the fact that people in New Hampshire don’t have more options than they have right now.”
Negron, 57, was visiting DHMC as part of the hospital’s “Health Policy Grand Rounds,” which gives health care professionals the opportunity to query candidates on health-related topics. U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, the Hopkinton, N.H., Democrat Negron hopes to unseat, made the same rounds last week. She supports the Affordable Care Act.
Negron, who represents Nashua in the New Hampshire House, is the grandson of a Mexican immigrant and traces parts of his ancestry to Puerto Rico. He is a former Air Force veteran who specialized in intercontinental ballistic missiles during the Cold War, and he’s worked for defense contractors Lockheed Martin, GTE and General Dynamics after retiring from the military.
Negron also owns Integron LLC, which provides program management services to defense companies.
But the candidate’s stance to abolish the popular health law received pushback from some physicians on Wednesday, including respiratory therapist Patrick von Kannewurff, who asked whether it would be fair for hospitals and emergency rooms to foot the bill for Americans deprived of insurance.
Negron responded that hospitals shouldn’t have to take on those costs, but the health care law should be scrapped for one that allows more insurance companies to compete and patients to easily shop around.
“I’ve got to tell you that I don’t believe that government should be in health care at all,” said Negron, who receives insurance from Tricare, the federally run health care program for uniformed service members, retirees and their families.
“I think you’re answering a different question. I think the questions I’m asking is: If we’re going to say I don’t have health insurance, if I come to the hospital, is it fair for the government to say, ‘Dartmouth-Hitchcock has to provide me emergency care, if I didn’t invest in health insurance’? ” von Kannewurff said.
Negron replied that people shouldn’t be turned away, but said he doesn’t have a “good answer” to von Kannewurff’s concerns.
Negron also defended his vote opposing New Hampshire’s Medicaid expansion, which provides health insurance to about 50,000 Granite Staters under the Affordable Care Act.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in Concord this spring passed a law that continues the program for another five years using a managed care model, which reduces costs by limiting enrollees’ choice of physicians and facilities. The measure also calls for 5 percent of state liquor revenues to contribute toward costs.
“The way it was presented to us was as an additional tax,” Negron said after the forum at DHMC. “When you say ‘tax’ to me, I get pretty defensive and I try not to tax the people.”
He instead called for the federal government to provide Medicaid funds in the form of block grants, which could let states decide how to use the money best.
“The state knows the demographics, the state knows the need, the state knows the population and the ebbs and flows,” he said. “I think when we try to hang some stuff on (the expansion), I think we get ourselves in trouble.”
While Negron doesn’t advocate for privatization of Veterans Affairs services, he said he is open to reforms that could offer veterans more choices.
“It could be as simple as a veteran has a card and they go wherever they want to go and get treated and get seen. It could be very, very simple,” he said.
Negron took issue with backlogs of patients seeking services at Veterans Affairs facilities, saying he supports the Mission Act, which allows veterans to obtain private health care and creates an integrated network for VA and community care providers. The law also expands an assistance program for the caregivers of veterans and creates a commission to modernize facilities.
“When I hear that somebody had to wait nine months just to get an appointment to get a hearing aid, it’s wrong,” he said. “We have to fundamentally look at how we take care of our veterans.”
Later on Wednesday, Negron attended a roundtable of area first responders and treatment providers at the Kilton Public Library in West Lebanon to discuss the opioid crisis.
Since 2016, Lebanon has seen 13 suspected narcotics overdoses, according to Fire Chief Chris Christopoulos, who lamented that there isn’t enough coordination between firefighters, treatment providers and the state and federal governments.
“If I could say one thing, I would say to the federal government, ‘Stop sending me money,’ ” said Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello, who said money targeted to the opioid crisis would be better spent devoted to treatment centers.
“We’re not going to arrest our way out of this problem. We’re not going to be able to use any giant pool of money (in law enforcement) to make any kind of dent in this problem that’s actually going to be substantive and is going to solve this issue,” he added.
Negron agreed that the crisis isn’t going to be solved by a “single magic bullet” and vowed to continue listening to those fighting addiction, if he’s elected next month.
The 2nd District race will be decided during the general election on Nov. 6.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.