Health care at the polls: Monadnock Region voters weigh in

When retired Swanzey schoolteacher Jane Johnson went to the polls Tuesday, she joined other Republicans in ranking the economy as a top issue for her in the election. But outside of her frustrations with high prices of food, electricity and other essentials, the cost of Johnson’s health insurance has exploded, an issue she hopes the next president and Congress will prioritize.

“It eats up almost all my retirement now,” said Johnson, voicing frustration at the confusing nature and high cost of her Medicare plans, which she pays for out of her N.H. Retirement System for public workers. “I get what’s left, and I don’t get much more than one week’s groceries for two people from it. Whoever is elected, I hope that they make that a primary issue.”

Johnson’s concerns about health care costs aren’t unique in this election cycle. During the 2024 presidential election, two in three Americans believed that health care was not receiving enough attention despite it being it the second most important issue to voters, according to polling conducted in September by Gallup and the Pew Research Center.

Health issues local to New Hampshire and the Monadnock Region like abortion, climate change, and the shortage of health care workers and providers, were also on the minds of local voters.

For Dan LeClair — a candidate for Cheshire District 10 who spent eight years working security at the Cheshire Medical Center — the long wait times to see a doctor is an issue he hopes can be addressed by state and national legislatures. Earlier this year, LeClair’s mother was hospitalized after having a minor heart attack.

“It was another three months before she could get in to see a doctor,” said LeClair. “When you’re dealing with issues like your heart, that’s not something that you want to wait around to see what the problem is.”

LeClair also hopes elected officials will address the need for more mental health services statewide. “The first things [hospitals] do when they start losing revenue is cut down on mental health services. There definitely needs to be an expansion of mental health services in New Hampshire.”

Democratic voter Jennie Gomarlo, a local small business owner and recent state rep, said the future of the Affordable Care Act was important to her vote. Under the Trump administration, both the White House and Congress attempted to repeal the ACA, commonly known as Obamacare, which protects people with preexisting conditions.

“If they just abolish [the ACA] without replacing it with something, then a lot of people are suddenly without care,” Gomarlo said. “That will be really hard on local hospitals as well because they’re obligated to help someone that’s in need.”

Tom Savastano of Keene, a Republican candidate for N.H. House in Cheshire County District 4 felt similarly. “It’s really important that we maintain a way to cover preexisting conditions, that’s something I’ve certainly benefited from myself.”

Local voters also expressed concerns about the influence of the health care industry’s advertising and donations to political candidates. In 2024, the pharmaceutical and health products industry spent $293,701,614 on lobbying, according to campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.

“I think it should be very, very regulated, well regulated, maybe even eliminated,” said Emma Stamas, a retiree who voted Democratic. “Why are they spending this money on advertising and not research and development?”

Abortion access, a major issue in both the national and New Hampshire’s elections, drew divided responses from local voters. Although many said they support reproductive rights, others viewed abortion in the context of health care differently.

“Health care is not murdering babies,” said Republican voter Lisa Traeger while campaigning outside of Richmond’s polling location. “Kamala [Harris] has not discussed one single word of health care. The only health care Kamala supports is murdering babies.”

While Harris campaigned on enshrining abortion access into federal law, she also campaigned on expanding the ACA.

But reproductive rights weren’t the top priority for all local voters. For Kerry Ulrich, a Democratic voter from Keene who described his health insurance premiums as “stupid high,” health care during the election was simple: “My personal philosophy is that if we can afford perpetual war, we probably can afford universal health care.”

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