NH gets 2nd part of report on health law impacts

CONCORD (AP) - A new report will help New Hampshire lawmakers and the governor decide whether to expand Medicaid under the new federal health care law. The state Health and Human Services Department hired a consulting group to study the issue after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that expanding Medicaid was optional under the Affordable Care Act. The first part of the study, which was released in November, concluded that the state would save up to $114 million if it decides not to expand Medicaid, but it would lose $2.5 billion in federal aid toward health care for the state's uninsured. The second part of the report, being released Friday, examines how expansion would affect the economy, health care providers, other state agencies and health insurers.