Ask your House Representative to support SB 498!
This legislative session, New Hampshire policymakers advanced SB 498, a bill that expands coverage of crucial supports and services for youth and families through the FAST Forward program to commercially insured youth. Currently, families with commercial insurance can only access these essential services through taxpayer-funded state dollars. This legislation is the result of multiple years of work from advocates, stakeholders, and state officials to address this critical coverage gap. Click here to read NAMI NH’s testimony in support of SB 498 from the public hearing in the House Commerce Committee.
After seeing strong support in the Senate, the House Commerce Committee recommended that the bill not go forward. However, the bill must still be voted on by the full House, and can still be passed and signed into law.
We need you to take action now – call or write your House Representative and urge them to support and pass SB 498! Click here to find your NH House Representative. Personalize the message below to use when contacting your Representative. Questions? Contact advocacy@naminh.org
Sample Message – Support SB 498
FAST Forward, New Hampshire’s high-fidelity wraparound program, is an essential tool to support youth and families as they navigate treatment for their child within the community. However, not every family that may need wraparound services is able to access them.
Currently, commercial insurers do not cover FAST Forward or comparable services to address the full array of a family’s treatment needs. That means commercially insured families are often left to try and fail to access needed services until the situation worsens to the point that they qualify for taxpayer-funded coverage of these services through state general funds and Medicaid.
SB 498 provides a common-sense solution by requiring commercial insurance plans to help pay for the program so that their enrollees can get the help they need. For a small cost to insurance plans, a cost that NH taxpayers have been covering up to this point, families in NH can get the help they need.
Please support SB 498 to improve access to services for youth and families!
