Gov. Maggie Hassan continues playing budget brinkmanship with Republicans in the state to win partisan points and position herself for a potential U.S. senate bid, and now mental health patients are caught in the crosshairs:
The state budget stalemate means a 10-bed mental health crisis unit at New Hampshire Hospital won’t open as planned this fall.
New Hampshire has been working to improve its mental health infrastructure since settling a lawsuit with the federal government in late 2013 over inadequate services. The 2014-2015 state budget included money to build the new crisis unit, but money to hire staff and operate the unit was to be included in the 2016-2017 budget that Gov. Maggie Hassan vetoed.
Watch WMUR’s report:
As Hassan continues to dig in her heels, one wonders who else will become collateral damage to her political ambitions?