Congress passed Trump’s massive ‘big beautiful bill.’ Here’s how New Hampshire will feel it.

When Michelle Lawrence heard about the Medicaid cuts included in the Republican tax and spending bill signed into law on July 4, it felt like “a punch to the gut.”

“I laugh, because if I don’t laugh, I cry,” she said.

Lawrence, who lives in Henniker, was diagnosed with a chronic form of cancer called T-cell lymphocytic leukemia 16 years ago. She said she lost her job about five years ago because the cancer was making it too difficult for her to work. And in losing her job, she lost her health insurance because she couldn’t afford COBRA coverage or anything on the marketplace.

“So I applied for Medicaid, which has been a major lifeline for me,” she continued. “That has enabled me and a lot of other cancer patients like me to be able to access the treatment needed in the past few years. I’m here. I’m alive and a contributing member of society. … Without Medicaid, I wouldn’t be able to afford my treatments or go to the doctor.”

Lawrence works 40 hours a month at a nonprofit assisting people with disabilities. Between the symptoms of her cancer and the side effects of her treatment, she can’t work any more than that, she said. But the “big beautiful bill” adds a work requirement to Medicaid that requires people to work 80 hours per month to receive coverage…..Read More