Senator Hassan Invites Substance Abuse Treatment Advocate Ashley Hurteau as Guest of Honor for President Trump’s Joint Session of Congress Address

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WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Maggie Hassan announced that substance abuse treatment advocate Ashley Hurteau of Dover will be her guest of honor for President Trump's Joint Session of Congress Address on February 28th in Washington. Ashley is a native Granite Stater now in recovery from heroin addiction after she was able to access substance abuse treatment because of New Hampshire's bipartisan Medicaid expansion plan.

As Senator Hassan's guest of honor, Ashley will join the Senator in the House Chamber for the Joint Session of Congress Address from President Trump. Senator Hassan and Ashley met at the Farnum Center in Manchester last month, where they joined a panel to discuss the harmful impact of repealing the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion on New Hampshire's efforts to combat the heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis.

"After living with addiction for nearly a decade, Ashley's life was saved because Medicaid expansion allowed her to access critical substance abuse treatment services," Senator Hassan said. "Ashley is living proof of the positive impact the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion have had on tens of thousands of Granite Staters, especially those living with addiction. I have been inspired by Ashley's courage in sharing her story of addiction and her road to recovery, and her bravery must be marked by our action. For Ashley and for the thousands of Granite Staters seeking help in the battle against addiction, I will continue to strongly fight efforts to take away Granite Staters' health insurance coverage through repealing the Affordable Care Act."

"I'm honored to be Senator Hassan's guest for the Joint Session of Congress Address and to share my story of how Medicaid expansion saved my life," said Ashley Hurteau. "Because of my health coverage under Medicaid expansion, I am now in recovery, working at Safe Harbor Recovery Center, a program of Granite Pathways, to help others struggling with addiction. I don't know where I would be today without this health coverage, but I know how critical it is for Granite Staters living with addiction. I am thankful to have a leader like Senator Hassan representing me in the Senate, strongly fighting against efforts to strip away critical health care coverage for those of us who need it most."

As Governor of New Hampshire, Senator Hassan fought to pass and reauthorize Medicaid expansion, which provides critical behavioral health and substance abuse treatment coverage for tens of thousands of Granite Staters. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Senator Hassan is focused on supporting states' efforts to increase treatment, prevent and recovery services. The Senator is also focused on strengthening law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts through her work on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Senator Hassan recently helped introduce the STOP Act, a bipartisan measure that will help prevent deadly fentanyl from being shipped into America from abroad.