Supporters, Opponents Talk ObamaCare [VIDEO]

At the two-year mark, the clash continues concerning , with one side touting the accomplishments of President Obama's public policy initiative, the Affordable Care Act, while the other side worries about the cost to businesses and whether the policy will strangle the state’s already relatively feeble recovery.

At a press conference on March 26, state Sen. , D-Concord, state Rep. , D-Nashua, and Dr. Sarah Henry, all praised the Affordable Care Act and all that it had done for New Hampshire residents, so far. Some of the accomplishments, according to Larsen, were life-saving mammograms for women at no extra cost, children being covered despite preexisting conditions like asthma, and free preventative care.

“Affordable health insurance you can rely on is a key part of the middle-class bargain,” she said.

Henry stated that the proposal ended discrimination between male and female rates, and secured free contraception for women so they could get preventative care without a copay or deductible. People won’t have to worry about losing their coverage, she said, when insurance companies decided not to cover people any longer. Henry said the plan was also good for young people because people would be able to stay on their parents’ plans when they got out of college.

“I think some of these are very powerful reforms,” she said, “that are increasing medical care for all of our citizens.”

Rosenwald said the Affordable Care Act forced companies offering insurance in New Hampshire to “play by the rules.” This means not penalizing children born with diseases, she said, and eliminating lifetime caps.

“It’s making sure that their insurance is actually there when they need it,” she said. “Health reform has stopped some of the worst insurance abuses.”

Republicans still worried

Legislative leaders on the other side of the political aisle held a short media availability to talk about the Constitutionality of the law and how it was undermining health care for Granite Staters.

Speaker , R-Mont Vernon, said Obamacare was an overbearing, ill-conceived law. He also pointed to $500 billion in Medicare funds that were being diverted to the plan saying it would harm seniors and worried about the burden on businesses harming the recovery. O’Brien said he hoped the Supreme Court would eye federalism and realize that the individual mandate went “beyond where any government should go.”

“It’s important that the people of New Hampshire know that their state legislators are working hard on this issue to protect them,” he said, “to preserve the substantial advances we’ve made.”