About Us

NH Voices for Health is a non-profit organization that coordinates a network of consumer and advocacy organizations allied in their commitment to securing quality, affordable health care for all in New Hampshire. The network represents over 200,000 members, consumers and constituents who are motivated to help improve health care quality and affordability in the Granite State.

The network believes that no one in New Hampshire should go without adequate, accessible health care coverage. While we do not now endorse one specific path to health care coverage for all, individual organizations within the network regularly work together and will continue to collaborate on specific policy reforms.

The network meets regularly to share information and strategies and to seek ways to collaborate on policies and practices that will increase access to health care for New Hampshire residents.

 

Network Goals

Build and sustain a broad based network of advocacy organizations, including organizations representing consumers, patients, community and religious organizations, businesses, labor unions, doctors, hospitals, community health centers, and other health care providers and individuals; support public policy solutions that increase access to quality, affordable health care; and strengthen individual organizations’ capacity to effect positive policy change on priority issues.



Operating Assumptions

  • Collaboration across constituencies will create a strong network.
  • Effective networks require resources. Each participant commits to seeking the necessary resources, acknowledging that community-based organizations and consumer health organizations have the least financial resources. Fundraising strategies will not interfere with funding for core operations of collaborating partners.
  • The network will focus on areas where coordination or economies of scale make sense, such as common research, message development, national or regional fundraising, and any other areas specifically identified by the Voices Board.



Activities Of The Voices Network

  • Policy analysis and research
  • Budget/fundraising
  • Coalition communications and maintenance
  • Message and media relations
  • Outreach to grassroots, including education & mobilization
  • Political strategy and coordination
  • Targeted policy work groups

 

Network / Committee Structure

Under the direction of its Board of Directors, NH Voices for Health convenes several groups that work collaboratively to guide and inform its policy decisions and work: Voices’ Board of Directors, Policy Committee, Policy Work Groups and Network.

A detailed description of each group is provided below.

Board of Directors

Role
Voices’ Board of Directors is the governing body of the organization.  The Board has full power to operate and manage the organization and has ultimate fiduciary responsibility for ensuring Voices carries out its mission.  Board members, along with Voices staff, are the only individuals that have the authority to speak on behalf of Voices, unless the Board explicitly assigns another representative on its behalf.  

Membership
Voices’ Board may have a minimum of five members and maximum of fifteen members, and must be at least 50% comprised of individuals representative of a consumer organization with a network of constituents.  

Board members are elected from a slate presented by the Board’s Governance committee or from nominations made from the floor.  Board members are elected to three-year terms and may serve for no more than two consecutive full terms.

Policy Committee

Role
Voices’ Policy Committee reviews and provide guidance regarding Voices’ policy work, including developing recommendations regarding establishing and implementing Voices' public policy priorities for approval by the Voices Board of Directors and serving as a resource to Voices’ Policy Director and staff in defining and carrying out the Board’s policy directives.

Membership
The Policy Committee is comprised of a diverse group of members, representing a variety of health care policy stakeholder groups, demographics and expertise.  

The Policy Committee must be comprised of at least three Board members, one of which shall serve as Chair of the Committee.

To maximize the diversity of Policy Committee membership and the committee’s connection to the broader Voices network, Voices Partners and network members (including individuals or organizations with which Voices works, but who are not formal Partners) who are actively engaged in Voices’ policy priorities members may be appointed to the Policy Committee. Non-Board members of the Policy Committee are nominated by the Policy Committee Chair and voted on by the Board of Directors.  Individuals and organizations shall apply to be nominated by the Voices’ Policy Committee Chair.  

Policy committee members are appointed to 1-year terms and there are no term limits.

Download an application to join the Voices Policy Committee.

Policy Work Groups

Role
Voices may have one or more active policy work groups at any given time that are convened to discuss updates and strategies related to specific issue areas (eg, children’s health, private insurance) and / or strategies (eg, communications, organizing, education).  Voices also shares regular email updates with its policy work groups.  

Voices’ policy work groups focus on identifying community-wide strategies for advancing shared priorities – which the Policy Committee and Board look to in determining how Voices can / should engage in public policy work.  

Membership
Membership in Voices’ policy work groups is open to all Voices Partners and the broader health care stakeholder community.  Members of policy work groups are invited to participate and attend meetings as they are able.


The Voices Network

Role
Voices' convenes periodic full network meetings to share, and allow partners to share, broad and high-level updates, and to facilitate networking.  These meetings are also a venue for policy work groups to share periodic updates with one another and for guest speakers to address and hear from the Voices network.   Voices also shares regular email updates with its network.

Membership
Any individual or organization that agrees to the following may join as a Partner of the NH Voices for Health Network:

  • To participate regularly in NH Voices Policy and/or Advocacy Meetings;
  • To communicate with our organization’s network about key health care policies supported by NH Voices for Health that they also believe are important;
  • To utilize some of the messaging, media and advocacy language that NH Voices for Health is developing in order to build broad public support for health care reform.

Voices’ Partners and members of the broader health care stakeholder community are invited to participate and attend meetings as they are able and receive Voices’ email updates.