(The Heart Sq.) – New Hampshire may lose billions of {dollars} and federal funding if it enacted a invoice to limit COVID-19 vaccine necessities, in response to well being care officers.
A proposal being thought of by the state Legislature would create a brand new “ethical” or “conscience” exemption to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and require all private and non-private employers who obtain public funding to approve the exemptions with out query.
However a number of well being care officers testified throughout a listening to on the invoice on Wednesday that the proposal would put the state in battle with federal guidelines that require vaccinations.
Paula Minnehan, with the New Hampshire Hospital Affiliation, stated the proposal would impression public well being, intervene with enterprise house owners’ rights and doubtlessly value hospitals and nursing houses greater than $2.3 billion a 12 months in federal Medicaid and Medicare funding.
“This invoice is in direct battle with Heart for Medicare and Medicaid Providers necessities,” she instructed the panel. “That will jeopardize hospitals all through New Hampshire.”
David Juvet, with the Enterprise and Business Affiliation, stated the proposal would stop employers from enacting insurance policies which might be aimed toward maintaining workplaces protected.
“This isn’t enterprise pleasant laws,” Juvet instructed the committee. “This invoice is clearly taking away the flexibility for employers to do what they assume is in the perfect pursuits of their workers and clients.”
Beneath present guidelines, New Hampshire employers should solely contemplate requests for non secular and medical exemptions, however aren’t required to supply them.
The invoice’s major sponsor, Rep. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, argued that employers – whether or not they’re public or personal – ought to be required to supply “versatile medical, non secular, and conscientious objector” exemptions from any federal or state vaccine mandate.
Throughout Wednesday’s listening to, Home Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, additionally testified earlier than the committee on a proposal he filed that may prohibit the state from implementing federal mandates on vaccines.
“This is not concerning the vaccine,” he instructed the committee, including that he has been vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19. “That is about what I imagine is an unlawful federal mandate, interval. Such a a mandate, the place they’re threatening to have folks fired if they do not adjust to one thing they do not imagine in, is simply improper.”
Packard instructed committee members that it wasn’t his intention to see Medicaid reimbursement halted and stated he was keen to work with lawmakers to stop that from occurring.
New Hampshire can be one among 11 states that sued to dam guidelines by the U.S. Occupational Security and Well being Administration that may mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all personal companies with 100 or extra workers. It additionally sued to dam the same vaccine mandate for health-care employees at amenities that obtain federal funding.
In January, the U.S. Supreme Courtroom blocked Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for giant companies after justices issued a ruling that the mandate was authorities overreach.
However the excessive court docket stored the federal vaccine requirement for health-care amenities on the books.