NH bill ending Medicaid coverage for elective circumcisions fails

New Hampshire Medicaid plans will continue to cover all infant circumcisions for parents who choose the procedure.

In a 178-197 vote, lawmakers rejected House Bill 1683, which would have limited Medicaid coverage to medically necessary circumcision. The bill's supporters said they opposed spending state money on elective procedures. The bill was one of two addressing circumcision this year; House Bill 1706 sought to require providers to show parents the tools used for circumcision and explain the risks, such as the potential for decreased sexual pleasure, before performing the procedure. The House voted to send that bill to interim study earlier this month.

In urging colleagues to support the end of Medicaid coverage for elective circumcisions Thursday, Rep. Wayne MacDonald, a Londonderry Republican, said the bill wasn't an attempt to ban the procedure.

“Medical coverage for those in need is indeed an important matter and deserves our attention,” he said. “However, the Medicaid program is about procedures and treatments that are medically necessary, and circumcision is not always such a procedure.”

In fiscal year 2023, the state's Medicaid plan, half of which is funded by the federal government, paid $213,160 for circumcision procedures, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Of that, about $90,500 was for “elective” circumcisions that would have no longer been covered under the bill.

In urging House members to defeat the bill, Rep. Joe Schapiro, a Keene Democrat, cited health benefits and made the kind of parental-rights argument often voiced by Republicans who supported the bill.

“It's a parental choice, and I am here today to ask you not to take that parental choice, that parental prerogative, dare I say that parental right away,” Schapiro said. “Passing this bill would be an intrusion into the freedom of New Hampshire parents to make medical decisions for their families.”