New Hampshire Loses $110 Million Court Case

The State of New Hampshire was dealt a blow when a judge presiding over a suit filed by a number of doctors, medical practices, clinics, and at least one hospital ruled the state had no right to take $110 million from a medical malpractice insurance fund in order to help balance the state budget.

Belknap County Superior Court Justice Kathleen McGuire said the state had no right to the funds because they belong to the Joint Underwriting Association.

The ruling leaves the state needing $65 million to balance last year’s books, and another $45 million for the current biennium.

It's no surprise the state will appeal the decision.

It's likely the governor will have to call a special session of the legislature to deal with the $110 million hole in the budget. I have no doubt they'll try to raise even more taxes because it's expedient rather than doing the prudent thing and cut a still bloated state budget by $110 million to eliminate that part of the deficit. (Yes it's bloated. They raised spending by over $1 billion, or 13 percent, at a time when we couldn't afford it. They claimed they made the necessary budget cuts, meaning that instead of increasing spending by 15% they only increased by 13%.)

The Legislature and the Governor have been on a spending spree over for over 2 years and are continuing it for another 2 years. Let's see if they'll do the right thing rather than the Left thing and cut the budget.