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‘Independence is almost a God-given right.’ Will lawmakers protect it in the budget?
Andrew Strelczyk lost his vision and both legs before he was 60, in a string of accidents that could befall anyone. Now 70, he’s eligible for a nursing home but is determined to continue living in his Nashua apartment, listening to classical music, enjoying time with his 81-year-old fiancé, and doing what he wants to […]
Forensic hospital on track, with a higher price tag
The Department of Health and Human Services was before the Executive Council Wednesday with a second request to repurpose unspent federal money to cover higher-than-expected construction costs for a new forensic hospital. The council gave the department the OK Wednesday to use $4.8 million it set aside during the pandemic to pay outpatient surgery centers […]
Mental illness ‘doesn’t have to overtake you’
As Lisa Barndollar was leaving a receptionist job five years ago, she asked her boss of a year and a half if she would have hired her had she known Barndollar has mental illness. The woman said no. That conversation could have sent Barndollar, 59, in one of two directions – to the darkness or […]
Republican concerns may halt permanent extension of expanded Medicaid
Expanded Medicaid, which provides health insurance to more than 60,000 Granite Staters, may have hit a roadblock to becoming permanent, despite its unanimous support in the Senate and passage last week in the House. The program, Granite Advantage, is set to expire this year; it was implemented in 2014. Concerns from House Republicans prompted a […]
Lawsuit: DCYF confirmed sexual misconduct at her group home. Then abandoned her.
In early 1993, a tip led the Concord police to a hotel, where they found a 16-year-old girl who said she’d been held there for about a week, enduring multiple rapes, by the owner of her state-sanctioned group home in Deerfield, according to a court record. The state removed her and the other girls it […]
Judge: State has 6 hours to move patients from ERs to treatment when holding them for safety
The Attorney General’s Office declined to say whether it will challenge this week’s ruling from a federal judge requiring the state to stop boarding people multiple hours, days, and even weeks in hospital emergency rooms when seeking to involuntarily commit them for treatment. The judge gave the state a year to ensure patients are transferred […]
House passes Medicaid expansion bill, rejects marijuana legalization amendment
Thursday morning, legislation the House and Senate largely agree on – continuing expanded Medicaid – looked like it may become the most divisive. Both chambers have shown strong support for continuing the program, which provides insurance to more than 60,000 lower-income Granite Staters who don’t qualify for traditional Medicaid. The program, 90 percent of which […]
$10 million in federal pandemic money sought for online ‘business support’ portal
Starting a new business in New Hampshire takes vision and often a financial risk. It also requires a lot of time navigating state agency websites, registering a business, obtaining permits, or securing licenses. The Department of Business and Economic Affairs is seeking to use $10 million in federal pandemic money to develop an online “business […]
Free screenings of ‘Anxious Nation’ documentary scheduled through June
The state’s 10 community mental health centers see increasing anxiety among children and youth every day. They are hoping to share that awareness with the public with free showings of “Anxious Nation,” a new documentary about childhood anxiety that features two Granite Staters, Concord psychotherapist Lynn Lyons and her longtime client Noah Cummings of Epsom. […]
DHHS buyback of more than 36,000 unsold COVID tests approved
In February 2022, when COVID-19 tests were hard to come by, the state began selling them in its nearly 70 liquor stores for $11.29 each. About 200,000 were sold, according to Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Jake Leon. The department received permission Wednesday from the Executive Council to use about $410,700 in federal […]
Senate Finance votes to reduce Medicaid payment increase for providers by $15 million
Mental health centers, midwives, home health care aids, and other human service providers may see a smaller increase in Medicaid payments than the $134 million the House approved. The Senate Finance Committee voted, 5-1, Tuesday to cut the House’s increase by $15 million, which would give providers about a $119 million increase. With the federal […]
Amid the budget back and forth, fate of NH’s most vulnerable hangs in the balance
Gov. Chris Sununu sent the House a budget in February that upped spending significantly over his last one, with a notable increase for Medicaid beneficiaries and other vulnerable populations that advocates say aren’t getting the services they need. The House increased spending even more, to nearly $15.9 billion over two years, an 18 percent increase […]