Health Law Poses a Test in New Hampshire Senate Race

SALEM, N.H.—New Hampshire's rollout of the Affordable Care Act has been one of the rockiest in the nation, putting Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on the front lines of Republican efforts to make the 2014 elections a referendum on the health law.

Only a single insurer in the state offers policies through the new law. Ten of the state's 26 hospitals and one fifth of its primary care providers aren't in its network. Residents of Concord, the state capital, have to drive to other cities to get covered hospital care.

If Ms. Shaheen can weather those conditions, Democrats say it would bode well for the party's candidates who adopt the message she helped pioneer: Fix the health law, don't end it.

"It is unfortunate that critics of the law want to repeal it but they don't have a plan to replace it," Ms. Shaheen said in an interview in Salem's police headquarters after holding a roundtable discussion on the region's epidemic of heroin abuse. "They want to send us back to a system where the insurance companies make the decisions about people's health care."

So far, that message seems to be helping shield her from political fallout. After months of constituent complaints and a barrage of attack ads by conservative groups, independent analysts say Ms. Shaheen is still favored to win in November.

Her leading GOP opponent, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, is betting that a backlash against the law will help topple an incumbent who just a few months ago seemed likely to coast to re-election.

"Obamacare forces us to make a choice, live free or log on—and here in New Hampshire, we choose freedom," Mr. Brown said last week. His play on the state's "Live Free or Die'' motto was a jab at the troubled HealthCare.gov insurance website.

In races across the country, some Democrats are hoping that the worst of the health law's troubles are behind them. A PAC supporting Alaska Sen. Mark Begich has begun running an ad touting the law's benefits. The departure of Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services last week secretary will give the party the chance to install a fresh advocate for the law.

And Democrats say the enrollment of 7.5 million people, more than the nonpartisan congressional scorekeeper's target, suggests the public won't accept the GOP repeal message. Republicans say the figure doesn't mark a success, since it's unclear how many of the 7.5 million already had insurance before the law or have followed through by paying premiums.

New Hampshire—often a bellwether of national political trends—has been awash in health-care ads for the last three elections. But in 2014, voters' attitudes for the first time will be shaped not just by rhetoric but by direct experience with the Affordable Care Act.

Ms. Shaheen is counting on the forgiving stance of voters such as David Kenny, a Dover art dealer who tried more than 200 times to sign up for insurance on the government's balky website. But after landing a $26-a-month policy for his wife, Runjuan Huang, he is delighted with the law. Mr. Kenny said he had disagreements with Ms. Shaheen in the past, but now supports her.

The senator faces a challenge, however, in voters such as Jocelyn Caple, a Rochester physician and mother of two. Last summer, Dr. Caple was notified that her insurance policy would be terminated, though she later received a one-year reprieve. Rochester's Frisbie Memorial Hospital, where she works and sees her own doctors, was excluded from the network run by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the single insurer offering policies under the health law.

Without changes, Dr. Caple said she would have to drop her doctor of 17 years and travel to another city for care if she buys insurance next year on HealthCare.gov. A Democrat who voted for Ms. Shaheen, she is no longer sure she would do so again. "I will vote on this issue," she said. "Who is going to step up and make sure this law accomplishes what it needs to?"

A WMUR Granite State Poll this month found Ms. Shaheen leading Mr. Brown, 45% to 39%, but her favorability ratings have declined since the health-care rollout began in October. Back then, 57% had a favorable opinion of her and 22% held an unfavorable view. In the April poll, 49% were favorable and 35% unfavorable. Half of those surveyed disapproved of the health law, but two-thirds said their family wasn't affected by it. Supporters of the law applauded when the state's insurance marketplace signed up more than 21,000 people by the end of February—exceeding its enrollment target even before the March 31 sign-up deadline. The state legislature also passed a Medicaid expansion that will provide coverage for an additional 50,000 people beginning in the summer.

A March 2014 poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 28% of those surveyed wanted to repeal the law, while 59% want to keep it either as is or with improvements.

Ms. Shaheen said she was the first Democrat to call on the administration to postpone the deadline for individuals to sign up, and that she has worked with other state and insurance officials to help fix the law's implementation. Two other companies have since agreed to offer policies in the state, but that won't happen until after the midterm elections.

Mr. Brown said in an interview at a Manchester diner that he had met "very few people" who have benefited from the law, and that full repeal is the only option. "You can write as many letters to the secretary you want," said Mr. Brown. "The only way to get rid of Obamacare is to get rid of the Obamacare Democrats who voted for it."

They keep moving the goal post when their guys lose. First Florida and Alex Sink were the big "test" but since they lost, Shaheen's up to bat. They can't lose every single race so sooner or later they're going to claim a Democratic wave and a win for the 'fix it' mantra. What the people need to ask is why Dems shoved a broken bill down our throats to begin with.

For them to say they need to 'fix' the law is to admit it's a piece of crap and they either knew that when they passed it or never read it. They're not innocent bystanders who just want to pitch in and fix a bad law, they made the bad law.

And Democrats say the enrollment of 7.5 million people, more than the nonpartisan congressional scorekeeper's target, suggests the public won't accept the GOP repeal message

The media never mentions that the law mandates you to have insurance. A law so popular that you are threatened with the IRS if you don't sign up. I mean come on. If the roles were reversed (Repubs voted this law in on party line) the media would point that out in each and every story.

“New” Hampshire should change it’s name to “Red” Hampshire, but it’s a “blue” state. That would confuse them.

That mandate is just another ‘broken’ piece of this law.

GOP needs to start calling attention to these Dems who want to fix Obamacare yet have done nothing to take this onerous burden off the people in their present term. They’re just trying to get another six years so Obamacare really is here for good.

GOP also needs to attack the whole ‘fix-it’ bs. The very ones saying to fix it are the ones who dumped this law on us to begin with. Don’t let them take a pass because their ‘fix-it’ slogan worked on focus groups.

Exactly. People forget how this law was passed 4 years ago; the shameless shenanigans, trades, trickery, backdoor deals, and outright corruption; and then rammed down our throats - all while smiling and mocking.

What they see now is a broken healthcare law (not exactly aware how it became law). And the compassionate Dems are offering to “fix it” while mean Republicans want to take it away. Sadly, that’s the low info idiot.

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