Government
New law eliminates insurance pre-approval for crisis mental health, substance use care
Insurance companies in New Hampshire can no longer require their members to get prior authorization before getting coverage for emergency mental health or substance use care when it is provided by a mobile crisis team, outside a licensed hospital. The new law, Senate Bill 85, is intended to make it easier for people to get […]
Child advocates: Damning report on Tennessee youth facility is one worry of many
Child Advocate Cassandra Sanchez was intentionally detailed and unsparing in describing what she saw and heard while checking on two boys the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services had sent to a Tennessee treatment facility. Children said staff offered them incentives to assault other children, Sanchez wrote in a 17-page report after visiting […]
‘The internet is no longer a luxury’: $667M from USDA for rural broadband
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend another $667 million on rural broadband loans and grants, the department said Monday, marking the fourth round of Biden administration funding under a program that the 2021 infrastructure law invigorated. Nearly three-quarters of the funding, $493 million, will go toward grants, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a […]
What connects smoking, obesity, and social isolation? Each can kill you.
For nearly 30 years, a group of women from Laconia High School’s class of 1952 has met monthly for dinner or lunch. They’ve seen one another through the deaths of husbands, swapped pictures of grandchildren, and reminisced about raiding their mother’s cabinets in the 1940s, in search of metal and tin to support the war […]
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 […]
Fulton grand jury indicts Trump, members of his inner circle
Former President Donald Trump and several members of his inner circle were indicted Monday in Fulton County, Georgia’s sweeping investigation into 2020 election interference. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis held a press conference late Monday night to briefly discuss the grand jury’s felony conspiracy and racketeering charges being levied against the 2024 Republican presidential […]
Pot smell and safety concerns ignite disputes over public smoking
Carl Sack is no fan of marijuana. He tried smoking once in high school and hasn’t touched it since. And he doesn’t just dislike the clouds of pot smoke he encounters around Duluth, Minnesota – he hates them. “I can’t stand to be around the stuff,” he said. But he’s still adamantly opposed to local […]
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 […]
1 inch of water, $25K in damage: Time to consider flood insurance, NH officials say
DJ Bettencourt most frequently hears from consumers that flood insurance is “expensive.” And while that may be unequivocally true for some households, the deputy commissioner at the New Hampshire Department of Insurance is trying to reframe that thinking, and urgently so. The average annual cost of flood insurance in the state is a little over $1,000, […]
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 to hold briefing, take questions about its progress on new forensic hospital
The state will hold another public briefing on the construction of a new forensic hospital. The online information session, where audience members will be able to submit questions and comments, is scheduled for July 31 at 6 p.m. The 24-bed secure hospital will treat patients who committed a crime but cannot stand trial because of […]
National Guard hopes to join Fish and Game on search and rescue missions
When Fish and Game gets emergency calls for help in the northern part of the state, such as those from hikers caught in a storm, it often looks to local search and rescue groups for help. That volunteer help is much harder to find in the southern part of the state – for now. The […]