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Court delivers another win for public records requests
The state Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Friday that will make it harder for cities, towns, and other agencies to deny access to public documents. It’s at least the fourth court ruling upholding the state’s right-to-know-law in a year and the second involving the city of Nashua. Friday’s ruling stems from a 2021 right-to-know […]
Council could get family planning contracts a fifth time
The Department of Health and Human Services anticipates asking the Executive Council this fall to reconsider contracts the Republican majority has rejected four times that would provide low-cost family planning and reproductive health care for nearly 17,000 Granite Staters. Council Republicans have repeatedly rejected the funding, which covers basic health care such as cancer screenings, […]
Are EMS calls the newest tool in fighting heat waves?
There’s a new way to measure the impact of increasing heat waves: EMS calls for heat-related medical emergencies. A pair of federal agencies, one focused on the health effects of climate change and the other on highway traffic safety, are behind a new EMS HeatTracker. Launched this month, the dashboard allows users to see how […]
New law may help – won’t solve – health facilities’ rising staffing costs
Hiring has become an emergency-level math dilemma for David Ross and the 120 people waiting for a bed at the Hillsborough County Nursing Home. Ross, the home’s administrator, can’t recruit enough nurses and LNAs with the hourly wages offered by the county. That’s forced him to rely on staffing agencies, which charge the county more […]
It’s about to become harder to keep meeting minutes sealed forever
School boards, city councils, state agencies, and other public bodies will no longer be able to seal minutes from nonpublic meetings indefinitely unless they reconsider the decision at least every 10 years. Gov. Chris Sununu’s signature this week of House Bill 321 will require public bodies and agencies to review sealed minutes no later than […]
New law aims to make playgrounds safer – for everyone
Come Jan. 1, new public playgrounds must have solid ground surfaces in place of wood chips or other loose covering that can be a hazard for people who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes, or other devices. Gov. Chris Sununu signed House Bill 467 into law Friday, setting the new requirements for school and community playgrounds built […]
Can off-ramps keep the ‘regulars’ out of jail?
The research confirmed what anyone working in behavioral health, law enforcement, the courts, or jails and prisons sees: A small percentage of people with mental illness and substance use disorder return to jail so often – as many as 72 times in three years – they make up a third of incarcerations. But it was […]
New laws expand assistance to families, limit child vaccine requirements
Gov. Chris Sununu signed two bills Friday related to individuals and families raising other people’s children. Senate Bill 172, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Carson, a Londonderry Republican, will allow people who take in children unrelated to them to get Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, money that can be used for groceries and other expenses. To […]
In first six months, YDC victims have requested $83 million for abuse
In the six months since the state launched a $100 million fund to settle claims with people abused at the former Youth Development Center, 92 people have requested almost $83 million. As of June, the state had resolved 11 claims for a total of $4.8 million, according to a new report. The state closed three […]
Passing new licensing laws is quick. Creating new licenses isn’t.
Once the pandemic revealed the state’s dire shortage of health care and other workers, state officials moved quickly to ease or quicken the licensing process. Gov. Chris Sununu signed the most sweeping change into law in June, allowing any licensed professional to practice here if their home state’s licensing requirements are “substantially similar” to New […]
Veterans must act now to get retroactive benefits for toxic exposure
There is no deadline for veterans to apply for a new health benefit that covers illnesses related to exposure to toxic substances. But veterans won’t be eligible for up to a year of retroactive benefits unless they tell the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by Aug. 9 that they plan to file a claim. As […]
State offers federal money to increase options to delay or deter nursing home care
The state is pursuing two projects aimed at increasing services that would allow people who qualify for a nursing facility to remain at home if that is their choice, one at the county level and the other statewide. The goal of both is to delay or defer admission to institutional care, which is more expensive […]