Urgent Action Needed: Advocate for a People-First Budget Now
The NH state budget for Fiscal Years 2026–2027
The New Hampshire House of Representatives has proposed a state budget for Fiscal Years 2026–2027 that includes significant cuts to essential health and social services. These reductions threaten the well-being of Granite Staters across all ages and could have far-reaching economic and public health consequences. A critical public hearing on the house budget bills (HB 1 and HB 2) will held on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 from 1pm-5pm and 6pm on in front of the NH Senate Finance Committee. Please consider sharing your concerns with the Senate Finance Committee and your elected representatives and encouraging others to consider doing the same!
Key Concerns:
As proposed, the current budget
Child Care Access:
Fails to invest in removing administrative barriers that limit access to the Child Care Scholarship Program, an essential resource for working families.
Youth Prevention Programs:
Eliminates positions at the NH Department of Education responsible for substance misuse prevention programming. This shifts responsibility for programs that protect against the negative health impacts of substance misuse to local communities while removing their access to the effective resources the NH Department of Education has invested so much in over the last decade.
Children’s Behavioral Health:
Eliminates funding for the Children’s Behavioral Health Resource Center, which provides critical training for service providers statewide. Keeping NH children safe and healthy requires a workforce capable of meeting all of their healthcare needs. Without this funding, waiting lists for behavioral health services for kids will only get longer as providers lose access to training in best practices and support for complex care coordination.
Support for Aging Population:
Abolishes the Commission on Aging. The Commission advises the Governor and legislators on policy and planning related to aging. New Hampshire's aging population deserves a plan that promotes healthy aging and reduces risks related to social isolation.
Healthcare System Strain- Medicaid:
Cuts 3% from Medicaid reimbursement rates and freezes loan repayments. When low Medicaid reimbursements don’t cover costs, health care providers have to make hard decisions about staffing levels and about reducing the proportion of patients with Medicaid that they see, both of which can make accessing care harder for people on Medicaid.
Includes a work requirement that could impact Medicaid coverage for more than 18,000 NH residents.
Adds insurance premiums and increased co-pays for low-income Granite Staters to the Medicaid program. As a rule, people who qualify for Medicaid coverage spend a lopsided amount of their income on housing and basic needs. Without extra disposable income to put toward premiums and copays, there is a high risk that our most vulnerable neighbors will avoid or delay seeking care whenever possible. When people delay getting care until it becomes an emergency, the costs (financial, social, and personal) are always far higher across the entire healthcare system.
Mental Health & Substance Misuse
Eliminates all general funds dedicated to prevention, education, and cessation resources for tobacco and vaping use, along with 19 enforcement positions at the NH Liquor Commission and limits the state's ability to conduct tobacco and alcohol compliance checks.
Ends substance abuse treatment programs within state prisons and cuts funding for the state’s Community Mental Health Program by $19 million per year, affecting substance use and co-occurring treatment programs.
Funds the Alcohol Fund with money from the state's Opioid Abatement Trust Fund, which limits allowable programs to those addressing only opioid misuse. This would require cuts to services related to alcohol (or even stimulant misuse), when the rate of alcohol misuse in NH is still higher than any other substance misuse.
Call to Action:
We urge the public health community to contact their state legislators and advocate for a people-first budget that prioritizes the health and well-being of everyone who lives, works, and plays in New Hampshire. Support for our aging population, affordable childcare, inclusive education and coordinated, accessible healthcare programs are not just expenditures, they are funds that will pay dividends for a long time for our wallets and our communities.
Take Action Now: Use New Futures 'Take Action' Budget Tool
Learn more about the proposed budget and its impacts
Find your legislator and contact information here:
Together, we can ensure that New Hampshire's budget reflects our shared values of health, well-being, and economic prosperity for all.