| NAMI New Hampshire
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Since January, New Hampshire policymakers and advocates have worked tirelessly on legislation impacting mental health and suicide prevention here in New Hampshire. Thank you to all of the mental health advocates who have testified at hearings, contacted legislators, submitted positions on bills, and shared their deeply personal stories to support Granite Staters affected by mental illness and suicide. Hope does, indeed, start with you.
We have now officially reached “crossover,” a deadline by which the House and Senate must act upon all bills originating in their respective bodies. Going forward, the House and Senate must consider the policies supported by the other body and reach a compromise – including on the state budget for the next biennium.
Advancements in Improving and Protecting Access to Care
So far this session, important progress has been made to increase access to care and promote mental health, including through the House passage of HB 480, which seeks to support the state’s competency restoration efforts by establishing a Forensic Liaison Pilot Program. The legislature has further renewed its commitment to expanding access and efficiency of care by passing HB 72, extending the commission to study telehealth services, and HB 507, relative to the timeline for credentialing mental health care providers. Further, the safety and well-being of youth continues to be a top priority for state lawmakers with the House passage of HB 653, establishing a pilot program for alternatives to restraint and seclusion in schools. These bills are now being considered by the Senate.
Crucial work has also been done by advocates to oppose policies that harm individuals with a mental illness, resulting in the defeat of HB 285, which sought to discriminate against parents with a mental health condition, and the decision to retain two bills that would’ve harmed access to services, HB 392, eliminating the office of Health Equity, and HB 348, restricting eligibility for local assistance.
Policy Setbacks
Though good work has been done, there have also been challenges. The Senate passed SB 134, seeking to enforce Medicaid work requirements, which would result in many individuals losing their coverage – even when they are already working. Further, the House passed HB 446 with an amendment requiring the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to be opt-in, which will lead to an inability for the state to collect crucial mental health data. Both the House and the Senate have also made the decision to pass several bills that would harm the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth, such as HB 377, a ban on necessary healthcare, HB 148, SB 38, and SB 268, which roll back the state’s discrimination protections, and SB 211, which expands the state’s ban on transgender people participating in sports. State legislators also decided not to advance SB 48, a policy that would reduce the backlog for competency evaluations, as well as a key policy to prevent suicide deaths through HB 56, implementing waiting periods before firearms purchases.
Changes to Mental Health Funding and Medicaid
The House approved its version of the 2026-2027 state budget, which contains harsh reductions to funding for New Hampshire’s community mental health system. It also contains drastic changes to the state’s Medicaid program by introducing premiums, increasing medication copayments, and implementing an across-the-board Medicaid rate reduction. NAMI NH is deeply concerned by these changes to both policy and funding. Already, our community mental health system faces workforce shortages and financial instability. This budget only exacerbates those challenges and is completely untenable. If signed into law, this budget will increase the burden on the state’s mental health system, decrease access to services, and impact the effort to address the mental health, suicide, substance use, and emergency department boarding crises facing our state.
However, the budget process is far from over.
Looking Ahead
The Senate must now work on its version of the budget. We expect to see the incorporation of many important policies that the Senate has passed and was holding on to, such as 988 funding (SB 255), FAST Forward funding (SB 128), homelessness services (SB 113), and supported housing (SB 114). We also expect to see the incorporation of key policy changes in the Senate budget regarding the state’s workforce (SB 244) and maternal health care (SB 246). There is tremendous potential at this point in the session to work with the Senate to add important policies or to reverse House budget decisions.
There is still plenty of work to be done for advocates and policymakers alike, as the House and Senate work to reach consensus on fiscal and policy decisions impacting the lives and mental health of Granite State individuals and families. We need your help to protect access to and funding for the essential mental health services that Granite Staters rely on. Your voice – your story – can make a difference.
To learn how, reach out to advocacy@naminh.org