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State launches free dental care for adults on Medicaid with two mobile clinics on Saturday
The state announced Friday that it is launching its free dental care for adults on Medicaid with two mobile clinics on Saturday. You have to make an appointment – and there are just a few slots left, according to a person scheduling appointments. In a press release issued Friday morning, the Department of Health and […]
Dems oppose budget headed to the House. Will that risk state pay raises?
This story was updated on March 29, 2023 at 8 p.m. to correct the name of the Democratic House member who voted for the budget. A 10 percent pay raise for the state’s 10,000-plus workers cleared an early hurdle Wednesday. The House Finance Committee voted, 14-11, for a budget that includes $100 million for a […]
Vaccine, public health bills are having a very different year
Last session, lawmakers took up nearly 60 pandemic-related health measures, more than half focused on vaccines; most failed. It’s a vastly different situation this year. Of four bills focused on vaccines or public health powers that the Bulletin is following, two have stalled. The other two land on opposite sides of the public health debate. […]
Sununu’s sweeping licensing overhaul could fail with both parties
Republican and Democratic budget writers in the House are moving to reject nearly all of the controversial and sweeping professional licensing changes Gov. Chris Sununu is seeking. This includes maintaining 31 of the 34 licenses he wants to eliminate, such as those for foresters, licensed nursing assistants, radiologists, and court reporters. The latter, who make […]
House budget writers seek to cut Sununu’s housing fund, delay new prison, boost Medicaid rates
When Gov. Chris Sununu addressed lawmakers to deliver his budget address in February, he promised “a smart and targeted budget that sets us all up for an even brighter future.” But not all of the governor’s proposals have been embraced by House Republican budget writers. There’s a $40-million-a-year gap between Sununu’s revenue estimates and those […]
Republicans help deliver Democrats two abortion wins
This story was updated March 24, 2023 at 8:45 a.m. to correct the name of the representative who addressed a proposed constitutional amendment. The support of several Republican House lawmakers Thursday gave Democrats wins on significant abortion bills. By fairly wide margins, members voted to remove criminal and civil penalties from the state’s 24-week abortion […]
House passes Sununu Center bill without legal changes that worried child advocates
Advocates for children, law enforcement, and state mental health officials prevailed Thursday in persuading House members to reject legislation they said would have risked putting more juveniles at the Sununu Youth Services Center. In doing so, the state moves closer to replacing the 144-bed correctional center with a much smaller therapeutic facility, advocates said. That […]
Advocates, law enforcement, DCYF call for defeat of Sununu Center legislation
This story was updated March 22, 2023 at 3 p.m. after the House moved a vote on the bill to Thursday. Lawmakers and advocates who are often at odds over legislation united Wednesday against a bill amendment they say would inadvertently land more children at the Sununu Youth Services Center. “What (the amendment) did in […]
‘We’re teetering on the edge.’ Are Medicaid rates making it harder to age at home?
Instead of living in nursing facilities, nearly 3,800 Granite Staters are in their own homes and communities thanks to the help they receive with basic needs like bathing, transferring from a wheelchair to bed, managing medications, making meals, and getting to medical appointments. Approximately 600 of them risk losing that care in July if the […]
DHHS wants to use $15 million in federal aid for second psychiatric hospital
The Department of Health of Human Services is seeking to invest $15 million in federal pandemic money in a second behavioral health hospital, this one a 120-bed facility in southern New Hampshire. Just over a year ago, the department used $15 million in federal money to buy Hampstead Hospital, a behavioral health hospital for children […]
Even with a $3.7 million cut, advocates support ‘healthy aging’ bill
The state Senate on Thursday passed a significantly scaled back version of a bill that would increase funding and assistance for Granite Staters over age 60 and those who have disabilities and are eligible for Medicaid. The amended version of Senate Bill 36 would put just over $1.7 million into developing and coordinating a system […]
A guide to using the state’s new right-to-know office
In his first several weeks, the state’s right-to-know ombudsman has received five complaints against state and local public agencies. Ombudsman Thomas Kehr, who began in January, said the Milford and Newbury town offices and the state Department of Transportation are each the subject of one complaint. The Newmarket town office is the subject of two, […]