NH Voices for Health

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NH Finance Committee Hears Key Testimony About Critical Importance to NH of Health Marketplace Education and Medicaid Expansion

MAY 9, 2013. CONCORD, NH – Key testimony at today’s budget hearing before the New Hampshire Senate Finance Committee emphasized the critical importance to New Hampshire’s residents, families, communities, and businesses of both educating Granite Staters about new options for affordable health insurance coverage that will become available in 2014 and accepting the federal funds to extend Medicaid coverage to hard-working, low-income residents in the state. The hearing, which focuses on House Bills 1 and 2, comprising the budget proposal as passed by the state House of Representatives, is an important step in the path to passing the state budget.

A number of testifiers offered support for the New Hampshire Insurance Department request that a federal grant to fully fund consumer education and assistance related to health insurance be added into the budget to ensure that New Hampshire residents have the information and assistance they need to obtain health insurance coverage and access tax credits and other financial assistance through the new Health Benefit Marketplace. Evidence demonstrates that the public remains largely uninformed about the Marketplace and the financial assistance that will be available to help make coverage more affordable.  The consumer assistance program is specifically intended to provide critical information to insurance consumers, many of whom will be able to afford coverage for the first time.

“It makes good sense for our state leaders to take advantage of the federal dollars available to fully fund a short-term program to inform and educate New Hampshire residents, families, and businesses about something as important as health care coverage,” said Lisa Kaplan How, Policy Director at New Hampshire Voices for Health (VOICES). “Our residents and businesses deserve to have the information they need to understand what new options will be available to them come 2014.” Without a consumer assistance program, Kaplan Howe emphasized, New Hampshire residents will not have the information necessary for making an informed decision about what the best health coverage will be for them and their families. “We can all agree that Granite Staters deserve to have the information and assistance they need to be prepared to make informed decisions about their health coverage,” said the policy director. “We look to state leaders to provide these services at the local level to ensure it meets the needs of our state.”

With regard to Medicaid expansion, HB 1 and HB 2, as proposed by the Governor and adopted by the House, embrace accepting the federal funds to expand Medicaid as a key element in New Hampshire’s budget for the upcoming fiscal biennium. As Tom Bunnell, Policy Consultant for VOICES, pointed out in testimony today: “The bottom-line is that Medicaid expansion is a tremendous bargain for our state.”

According to the Lewin Group, independent experts commissioned by the NH Department of Health & Human Services to look at the impact of Medicaid expansion on New Hampshire, this opportunity would: cover tens of thousands of working people in our state who now lack affordable health coverage; bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars into New Hampshire’s economy; and can be done at no cost to the state cost to start and little if any cost to the state in the long run.

In response to questions about long-term cost, Bunnell added: “The Lewin Group found that if New Hampshire is able to implement Medicaid managed care, the Medicaid expansion would have no net state cost over the entire seven year period studied by the experts.”

“In addition to providing vital coverage, these federal dollars will go to hospitals, doctors, and community health care providers, decreasing uncompensated care and related costs for providers in New Hampshire,” said Bunnell. “As a result,” he added, “these dollars will reduce the current pressure for providers and insurance companies to shift uncompensated care costs onto the business community, and onto all of us who pay the cost of private health insurance premiums.”

“Everyone knows that New Hampshire taxpayers now send more dollars to Washington than we get back. This Medicaid coverage opportunity gives us the chance to change that dynamic and to capture more of our fair share while bringing substantial benefit back home,” said Bunnell.

Medicaid expansion will bring health coverage to people in our state who cannot now afford it. “Hard-working low-income families need the security of quality health coverage to get life-saving care when they need it without facing huge medical bills,” said Bunnell.

Testimony at today’s hearing, which covered the full range of proposals in the budget passed by the state House of Representatives, comes as members of the Senate Finance Committee prepare to vote on a recommendation to the full Senate on the budget bills. When enacted, the budget takes effect July 1, 2013, and will guide NH spending of state and federal dollars for two years, until June 30, 2015.

 

For a downloadable version of this press statement, click here.

To read the testimony given at the Senate Finance Committee hearing by Lisa Kaplan Howe, VOICES Policy DIrector, click here.

To read the testimony given at the Senate Finance Committee hearing by Tom Bunnell, VOICES Policy Consultant, click here.

 

 

 

Laconia Citizen editorial: Medicaid expansion is "the right economic investment for our state"

April 28, 2013. LACONIA, NH. A married mother of two works hard at a hair salon she owns in town. Her husband also works full time but because he is in the tree cutting business, the cost of an insurance premium to cover him due to the risk of his trade is astronomical.

So despite two incomes, this family has no insurance coverage.

All is fine until the mother falls ill and requires gallbladder surgery. She is out of work to recuperate and with no insurance plan, the family is now forced to pay thousands of dollars out of their own pockets to cover the various hospital and related medical bills.

This is the type of New Hampshire family that would benefit from the proposed Medicaid expansion program.

Under the proposed measure, some 58,000 residents of the Granite State would have access to medical and mental health care. This will allow these residents access to routine care with a primary physician rather than leaving them with no choice but to seek medical attention at the hospital emergency room, regardless of the ailment.

Advocates for Medicaid expansion, who recently shared their views with the editorial board of The Citizen, pointed out that getting more people into the system is key to helping to keep health costs down.

It is no secret, as was reiterated by NH Hospital Association President Stephen Ahnen, that it is cheaper to care for healthy patients than sick ones or patients with untreated chronic illness.

The other aspect of expanding Medicaid is financial — getting federal dollars back into the state — to the tune of $2.5 billion over the next seven years.

Individuals earning less than $15,800 a year would be eligible for coverage as would families of four earning up to $32,000. According to NH Voices, the federal government would pay 100 percent of the coverage cost of the Medicaid expansion for the first three years, beginning in 2014, with the amount decreasing to 90 percent of the coverage cost in 2020.

If included in the state budget, the Medicaid expansion would take effect Jan. 1, 2014. Ahnen pointed out that states can vote to participate in the program, as well as opt out at any time.

In Fiscal Year 2014-15, the state would receive $422 million more than it currently does through Medicaid, with no cost to the state.

While expanding Medicaid does not change the rates that hospitals are compensated for treating such patients, if the state opts to not adopt the expansion plan, not only does this window of uncovered residents remain but also the state will lose out on the federal funds and ultimately it will cost more, according to Ahnen. Hospitals could be forced to cut jobs and programs due to the lack of funding.

New Hampshire has a great opportunity here to save money in the long run and, at the same time, give many residents access to health and mental care. It is a no-brainer that the state sign on for Medicaid expansion at this time.

Thomas G. Bunnell, Esq., policy consultant with NH Voices For Health, called the Medicaid expansion package a ‘pretty impressive fiscal bargain’ for New Hampshire, and we agree.

 

 

NH Voices for Health Calls on Joint Fiscal Committee to Take Timely Action to Move Forward Health Insurance Consumer Assistance Opportunity

CONCORD, NH, APRIL 19, 2013 – Today’s decision by the Joint Fiscal Committee of the New Hampshire legislature to delay a vote on whether to accept federal grant funds to create a short-term health insurance consumer assistance program provides committee members with more time to carefully consider this important opportunity for the people of New Hampshire, according to New Hampshire Voices for Health (VOICES). The program would be fully federally funded and would allow the state to help Granite State individuals, families, and businesses seeking health insurance coverage and related assistance through the new Health Benefit Marketplace.

“The Committee’s decision to delay a vote on whether to accept the federal grant funding shows that Committee members appreciate the importance of this opportunity for the state,” said Lisa Kaplan Howe, Policy Director at VOICES. “We hope and expect that they will fully and carefully consider the benefits of moving forward with this opportunity, which would, if implemented, ensure that New Hampshire residents and businesses have a place to turn to learn of and access new opportunities and assistance for health insurance.”  Moving forward with the opportunity would also ensure that the state can retain local control and design a program specific to New Hampshire’s needs and existing resources.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made resources available to New Hampshire to fully fund the development and implementation of a short-term, state-driven program to help inform New Hampshire residents about new options for health insurance that will be available through the Marketplace come 2014 and to assist them in accessing new coverage options. Local organizations are expected to take a leading role in the work, which will also include providing information about tax credits that are projected to make health insurance more affordable for more than 96,000 low-income workers.

The program will particularly try to reach the uninsured who are not currently getting the assistance they need, are hard to reach and know very little about insurance and what options are available to them.  “These are exactly the people who may finally be able to afford health insurance, but only if they know that new options exist and how to access them,” said Kaplan Howe.

Earlier this year, a statewide online survey of nearly 650 New Hampshire residents found that few residents understand what the Marketplace is and what coverage and assistance will be available through it, making outreach, education, and assistance activities critically important to connecting people to affordable coverage. The survey’s findings suggest that much educational work needs to be done to inform and educate businesses and residents about the Health Benefit Marketplace, which will offer consumers and businesses the opportunity to shop for and purchase health insurance on an “apples to apples” basis using premium tax credits. The same concerns were shared broadly at last week’s Health Exchange (Marketplace) Advisory Board meeting.  A broad range of members on the Advisory Board urged the Insurance Department to move forward as quickly as possible in beginning a public outreach and education campaign. 

Acceptance of the grant funding is a critical step in establishing an effective consumer assistance program in New Hampshire. The funding ($339,153) that came up for vote today in the Joint Fiscal Committee is just the portion of the grant that would be used to plan the program through June. The rest of the funding, which would be for implementation, will require separate approval.

“We urge Fiscal Committee members to use the time before their next meeting to hear directly from the people of New Hampshire – including those who may search for coverage and assistance through the Marketplace – about whether and how to move forward,” stated Kaplan Howe. “Ultimately, this decision must be guided by the needs of the state and, most especially, by the needs of the residents who will be directly impacted by their decision.”

 

For a downloadable version of this press statement, click here.

 

 

NH House Vote to Pass HB 1 and HB 2 Brings Affordable Health Care for All NH Residents a Big Step Closer to Reality

 

CONCORD, NH – With the New Hampshire House of Representatives voting to pass both House Bill 1 and House Bill 2 today, accepting the federal funds to extend Medicaid coverage to hard-working, low-income residents in New Hampshire took an important step forward. New Hampshire Voices for Health (VOICES) applauds the commitment shown by policymakers to making extended Medicaid coverage a reality in New Hampshire.

HB 1 and HB 2 both embrace the Medicaid expansion as a key element in New Hampshire’s budget for the next biennium. “Accepting the available federal funds for Medicaid expansion will extend health coverage to tens of thousands of lower-income working people in our state,” says Tom Bunnell, Policy Consultant at VOICES.

“Study after study indicates that health insurance coverage has a beneficial impact on the lives, health outcomes, economic security, productivity, and success of working individuals, families, and communities,” he added. “When covered, New Hampshire residents get check-ups and preventive services, necessary follow-up care, and cost-effective treatment of chronic illness, instead of accessing delayed, inefficient, and much more expensive care in emergency rooms.

“The Medicaid expansion maximizes available federal dollars,” Bunnell continues. “New Hampshire businesses and the economy will benefit from $2.5 billion in federal funds that stimulate economic growth and result in a healthier workforce while reducing uncompensated care costs for community health care providers.”

According to baseline estimates by the Lewin Group, independent experts commissioned by the NH Department of Health & Human Services, the Medicaid expansion would bring $422 million in federal funds into New Hampshire’s state budget and economy during the upcoming two-year budget period and $2.5 billion over the upcoming seven years. Lewin also projects that the Medicaid expansion can be done at no net general fund cost to New Hampshire over the upcoming fiscal biennium. And if our state is able to implement Medicaid managed care, according to the Lewin Group, the expansion can be accomplished at no net state cost over the entire seven year period studied by Lewin.  

“Accepting the federal funds strikes a fairer balance for New Hampshire taxpayers,” says Bunnell. “Everyone knows that our state sends more dollars to Washington, DC, than we get back. These federal funds give us the chance to strike a better balance and to bring these dollars back home for a compelling purpose. In fact, if our state were to reject the Medicaid expansion, New Hampshire taxpayers would be paying for and subsidizing the expansion in other states across the nation, and be deprived of all of its sensible and helpful benefits here at home.

“As HB 1 and 2 cross over to the New Hampshire Senate,” he concludes, “we’re hopeful that Senators will be guided by these same pragmatic considerations for working families, taxpayers, health care providers, and our state’s economy as a whole.”

 

For a downloadable version of this press release, click here.

 

 

Valley News Editorial: N.H. Medicaid Expansion; State Shouldn’t Waste Opportunity

MARCH 27, 2013 -- It’s hard to construct an argument in favor of New Hampshire accepting federal money to expand the state’s Medicaid program — because it’s difficult to grasp why anyone might oppose it. Are there people whose distrust of the federal government is so profound that they would have the state pass on the opportunity to significantly expand the number of people with health insurance? The answer, apparently, is yes — although it’s not clear whether enough lawmakers share that sentiment to actually block the state from making what should be an easy call.

As part of the Affordable Care Act, the state is being offered $2.5 billion over the next seven years to expand health insurance coverage through Medicaid, the state-federal program that now insures 132,000 New Hampshire residents, most of them low-income. If New Hampshire accepts the help, income limits would be raised to 138 percent of the federal poverty line —$15,856 for single adults — and an estimated 58,000 additional people would be covered, reducing New Hampshire’s uninsured population by about a third.

This expansion was not intended to be optional. When the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare as constitutional, however, it ruled that Congress lacked the authority to mandate Medicaid expansion. Under what is now an optional plan, the federal government will reimburse states for 100 percent of the cost of covering all newly eligible adults from 2014 to 2016, with the federal portion gradually being reduced to 90 percent by 2020.

Oddly, the Supreme Court has protected the right of states to block the federal government from extending health insurance to large numbers of their own residents. Why would they? In New Hampshire, the most common objection is that the federal government can’t be trusted to maintain that level of funding, and the state will end up getting stuck with the bill. They also warn that the state share may be a small percentage of the total cost, but it will still be significant, especially for a state budget in straitened circumstances.

Exactly how much of the expense will fall to New Hampshire depends on a number of factors. An analysis by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute estimates that the Medicaid expansion would cost the state $85 million over the next seven years, but that the planned implementation of a managed care system for Medicaid and several other changes in the offing would eliminate that cost and might even reduce the state’s overall spending.

Even if that forecast proved wrong and the state ended up paying the full $85 million — an average of about $12 million for each of the next seven years — it would be a relative bargain for extending coverage to so many New Hampshirites now exposed to the peril of living without protection. And let us not forget that expanding coverage also is likely to lower overall health spending: People with insurance can seek medical help when it’s needed, forestalling the development of more serious and expensive conditions, and they don’t have to resort to a high-priced trip to the local hospital’s emergency room when they absolutely need medical attention.

Might the federal government renege on its commitment sometime in the distant future? Perhaps, although expansion supporters rightly note that nothing in the nearly 50-year history of the Medicaid program suggests that the federal government can’t be trusted to meet its obligation.

The same can’t be said for the state of New Hampshire, of course, which has too often demonstrated a creative knack for diverting Medicaid money from its intended purpose into the general fund. Here’s a chance for the state to use Medicaid money appropriately — to help the working poor get the health care they need, when they need it.

 

 

The ACA at 3: New Hampshire Already Seeing Benefits from the Affordable Care Act on its Third Anniversary – With More to Come

CONCORD, NH – March 23, 2013, is the third anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). “This is the most significant health care reform law since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s,” noted Susan Smith, Executive Director of NH Voices for Health (VOICES). As the nation observes the anniversary of this landmark legislation, VOICES emphasizes the ACA’s far-reaching effects in New Hampshire.

“Thousands of Granite Staters are benefitting from consumer protections, improved access to private insurance, tax credits, and provisions that strengthen Medicare that have been enacted under the ACA over the last three years,” said Lisa Kaplan Howe, Policy Director at VOICES. “These new provisions ensure all children have access to private insurance and those Granite Staters who have purchased private insurance have affordable access to preventive care; that seniors on Medicare have affordable access to wellness visits and prescription drugs; and that many small businesses have assistance when purchasing coverage for their employees and their own families.  At the same time, many of the most far-reaching benefits of the law are yet to go into effect.”

 

Already Making an Impact

Already the ACA is improving access to affordable, quality health care in the Granite State:

• Preventive care: Most Granite Staters with private insurance and all those on Medicare now have access to free wellness visits, preventive care, and immunizations.
• Protection for children: Families can no longer be denied the right to purchase health coverage for their children simply because they have a pre-existing condition.
• Coverage for young adults: All young adults up to 26 are now able to stay on their family health insurance policies as they transition to the work force.
• Small business tax credit: Many small businesses in New Hampshire are receiving tax credits to help cover their costs of providing health insurance for their employees.
• “Doughnut hole” discounts: Medicare beneficiaries in the Part D prescription drug coverage gap – the so-called “doughnut hole” -- now receive 50% discounts on all brand-name drugs and are seeing that gap diminish. By 2020, the coverage gap will be fully eliminated.
• Services and tests for women: Health insurance plans are now required to provide services and tests for women, including Pap smears, cancer screenings, diabetes screenings, as well as domestic violence counseling and breast feeding counseling, with no out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-pays.
• New insurance rules: Insurance companies are banned by the ACA from cancelling people’s coverage when they get sick and from cutting off benefits because a person has needed significant health care services.
• Promoting affordable coverage: Insurance companies must spend the vast majority of the premium dollars they receive on health care, eliminating wasteful administrative spending.  In addition, the state is more closely scrutinizing high annual premium increases.

 

Access to Coverage: The Health Benefit Marketplace

In 2014, individuals and small businesses in New Hampshire will have the opportunity to shop for coverage on a more transparent and unified marketplace.  This Marketplace will serve as a “one-stop shop” that will provide access to private insurance, public coverage programs, and tax credits in a manner that supports choice and competition. 

The Marketplace offers important benefits to Granite State residents and businesses, including:

• One-stop shopping: The Marketplace will make buying health insurance easier. It will allow people and small businesses to compare and shop for a range of private and public coverage options in a “one-stop shop.”
• Easier to compare: Insurers in the Marketplace will have to use easy-to-understand language to describe their products. The Marketplace will have an easy-to-use website that displays information about plan benefits, costs, and quality in a uniform way. It will allow people to make apples-to-apples comparisons when they shop for health plans.
• Increased competition: Thanks to the easy-to-compare feature, insurance plans being sold through the marketplace will have to compete for customers based on value. On this level playing field, quality insurers of all sizes—not just the largest and most powerful—will be able to compete.  In addition, all Marketplaces will have two “multi-state” plans.
• Easier to buy and afford: In the Marketplace, moderate-income families will be eligible for tax credits to help them pay their insurance premiums. Many people will also receive help with copayments, deductibles, or other cost-sharing. And the Marketplace will monitor insurers to make sure that they aren’t unreasonably increasing their premium rates from year to year.
• Consumer help: Health insurance can be confusing. But in the Marketplace, direct assistance will be available. A toll-free hotline will take shopper’s questions, and “navigators” and others will help people understand and enroll in coverage.
• New options for small businesses: Small businesses will be able to allow their employees to choose among multiple health plans rather than having to find one plan that will work for all of their employees.

 

Promise of Access to Health Cover for New Hampshire’s Working Poor

Another critical element of the ACA that’s currently being debated in the State House is the expansion of the Medicaid program to include all residents of New Hampshire aged 19 to 65 with annual incomes up to $15,400 for a single person and $32,000 for a family of four. That’s about 58,000 people, including families, according to a report commissioned by the NH Dept. of Health and Human Services.

This will ensure that low-income working NH residents who, for example, serve meals in restaurants, sweep and vacuum the floors in workplaces, fix cars, cut hair, work in a full range of local shops and stores in NH communities, provide in-home services to seniors and people with disabilities, and teach and care for children at child care centers will have access to health care, many for the first time.

The federal government will pay 100% of the coverage cost of the Medicaid expansion for the first three years beginning in 2014, ratcheting down to 90% of the coverage cost in the 7^th year (2020) and thereafter.

If included in the state budget, the Medicaid expansion will take effect Jan. 1, 2014.

 

Other Benefits Granite Staters Will Begin Receiving from the ACA in 2014

Other key elements of the ACA will take effect in 2014, including:

• New rules for insurers: Insurers will be banned from restricting coverage or basing premiums on health status.  Insurers will also be limited in varying premiums based on age.
• Premium subsidies: Premium and cost-sharing assistance on a sliding scale will make coverage affordable for low and moderate income working families that buy health insurance through New Hampshire’s Health Benefit Marketplace.
• More affordable coverage: Annual out-of-pocket costs will be capped at $5,950 for individuals and $11,900 for families.

 

“New Hampshire residents look to the leaders of our state to help ensure that Granite Staters receive all the benefits due to them under the Affordable Care Act,” concluded Lisa Kaplan Howe of VOICES.

 

For a downloadable version of this press statement, click here.

 

 

VOICES Applauds House Vote on HB 271, Paving Way for Medicaid Expansion in New Hampshire

CONCORD,

 

 

What's New

 

New VOICES Backgrounder on Medicaid Expansion in NH: Click here.

 

Countdown to Coverage: *New* Comprehensive Coverage for Women’s Preventive Care

Starting on August 1st of this year, preventive services focused on women's wellness and the unique preventive services women need will now be covered without cost sharing (co-pays) as part of health insurance plans. 

As part of the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is adopting new guidelines for women’s preventive services to fill the gaps in current preventive services and ensure a comprehensive set of preventive services for women.  

For details about the Countdown to Coverage
for new preventative services for women, click here.

 

US Supreme Court Ruling Victory for Granite Staters!

NH Voices for Health celebrates the Supreme Court ruling that will allow Granite State families and businesses to continue to access important health care protections under the Affordable Care Act. This ruling means that 8,330 young adults in our state will be able to remain on their parent’s plans, that 501 cancer survivors and other patients with pre-existing conditions currently using the high-risk pool will be able to continue to access health care coverage, and that families across the state can continue to use free preventive services to eliminate future health costs and problems. For more on Voices' reaction to the US Supreme Court ruling, click here!

 

The ACA Provides 45 Million Americans with Preventive Services

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released national and state data revealing that 45 million additional people are receiving preventative health services through provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  The health law requires insurance plans to provide coverage for and eliminate cost-sharing on certain recommended preventive health services, for policies renewing on or after September 23, 2010. The report estimates that in New Hampshire, 279,000 people are benefiting from new preventative services.  For the full report and data, click here. 

 

Medicare Advantage Premiums Down, Enrollment Up

Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen by 7 percent on average and enrollment has risen by about 10 percent since this time last year, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced recently. “The Medicare Advantage program is stronger than ever,” Secretary Sebelius said.  “Premiums are down on average, enrollment is up, and thanks to the Affordable Care Act we have unprecedented new tools to ensure that seniors and people with disabilities are getting the best value out of their coverage.”

For a press statement and to find the most recent Medicare Advantage and Part D contract and enrollment data, visit: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/02/20120201a.html

 

Donut Hole Closing: Health Reform Law Saves $2.1 Billion for 3.6 Million Americans with Medicare

Nearly 3.6 million people with Medicare saved $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs in 2011 thanks to the Affordable Care Act according to data issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The report reveals that NH residents with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage saved $8.2 million or $620 per senior through the Coverage Gap (donut hole) Discount Program, which began in 2011. HHS estimates that the average person with Medicare will save nearly $4,200 by 2021 because of the new law.

For a press statement and linked reports including, the full report on Medicare Beneficiary Savings and the Affordable Care Act, state-by-state savings figures for donut hole savings, a fact sheet about donut hole savings, and the report regarding savings those with Medicare will see over time, visit: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/02/20120202a.html

 

Speaker’s Bureau

NH Voices for Health and its network partners can provide speakers for your upcoming event, depending on the time and location. Topics include "The New Health Law: What It Means for You" and "Advocacy 101: Pushing for Strong Health Policy in New Hampshire and Beyond" among others. Presentation times range from panel discussions to educational forums to keynote speeches. Small businesses, in particular, will benefit from the new health law and a special track helps educate employers and owners on what improvements to expect and when.

Request a speaker for your upcoming event.

 

Resources

Candidate Positions on Health Care:

Candidate (President, NH Governor, US House of Representatives NH districts 1 & 2) statements/platforms related to health care and the ACA taken from their websites were used to create a brief overview of each of the candidates.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services : The new health law provides many opportunities for families and small businesses in New Hampshire. In addition to the fact sheets and information on our website, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a full range of information available by state, constituency and implementation timeline. For further information, visit http://www.healthcare.gov/.

State Government : Want to learn more about state health policy? In addition to the resources on the Voices website, you can visit the NH General Court website. There you can find information about bills from the past legislative session, voting records of your state legislators, and the key committees who impact health policy in our state. You can visit the General Court website at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/.