10 Ferry Street, Suite 309, Concord, NH 03301
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Signed in as:
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Starting 11/18/2024, individuals can request up to $600 per year to pay for recreational services, which the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services waiver does not cover. This funding is first come, first serve with preference given to those who previously had approved funding in their HCBC Services services budget.
Funding may be available to individuals who:
Please contact your service coordinator for more information on how to apply.
The 2024 Legislative Session was busy, with 100+ bills that were tracked by CSNI and many hearings that family members, individuals with disabilities, and Area Agency staff provided information and testimony on. The session concluded with several significant changes and legislative studies.
CSNI worked with families and legislators for the initiation of what eventually became SB409. This bill appropriates $500,000 to the Developmental Services System to ensure that costs to access recreational services are covered, and that individuals with developmental disabilities are able to participate in recreational activities within their communities. With these efforts, the bill was signed into law on 8/23/24. CSNI thanks Representatives Stringham and Edwards for all their advocacy and persistence in helping this bill pass and directly help NH citizens with disabilities to continue accessing their community.
More notable changes this past year included:
- The repeal of the state Autism Registry (per HB1615-FN)
- Naming of an Area Agency Representative to the HB1028 commission to study the delivery of behavioral crisis services to individuals with mental illness with an impairment primarily caused by intellectual disability
- Initiation of the HB1168 committee to study the impact of the housing crisis on people with disabilities.
CSNI looks forward to the year ahead, and we thank everyone for their efforts on behalf of people with disabilities and their families this past session.
Every two years the state of New Hampshire votes on a new budget. In the 2019 legislative session, the budget that was being worked on was for Fiscal Years 2020-2021. The House had three separate public hearings and the Senate had two public hearings. Together, hundreds of people attended more than 15+ hours of public testimony. more than seventy people spoke on the impacts of the budget to the developmental disability system of supports and services. In addition, more than ninety people testified on the work force challenges that are impacting our state.
The NH House and Senate passed a budget to send to the Governor after hours of work through the Committee of Conference. The budget was vetoed by the Governor in June. NH is operating on a continuing resolution budget for the months of July, August and September. We are continuing to work closely with our elected officials to share the impact on the individuals that we support with no budget signed into law.
To stay up to date on where the budget is, you can visit the general court website below.
SB 86 was signed into law in the 2019 legislative session. This bill established a commission to study programs for serving individuals with psychiatric diagnoses and/or high risk behaviors; including criminal behaviors, who are served by New Hampshire's developmental services system. This was an opportunity to bring professionals together to discuss the programs available for individuals with certain developmental and mental health disabilities and identify gaps or challenges with serving their needs. The commission was charged with identifying programs available, reviewing data including how many people are served by the developmental services system that have a psychiatric diagnosis and/or high risk or criminal behaviors and identify additional supports and services that are needed.
SB 308 was a bill that addressed many issues including a rate increase to Medicaid providers and allowing for electronic background checks to take place. This bill asked for a 5% rate increase in the first fiscal year and a 7% rate increase in the second fiscal year. The bill was "laid on the table" by the Senate, however, the advocacy efforts did not stop there. A Health Care Work Force Coalition was formed and the need for a rate increase has been advocated through press conferences, op-eds, letters to the editor and coalition meetings. The Senate, House and the Governor recognize the need for a rate increase to developmental services and are committed to providing it. The plan is to incorporate it into the budget, when the budget is passed. The committee of conference budget included a Medicaid rate increase of 3.1% in the first year and an additional 3.1% in the second.
The NH Medicaid program does not require managed care organizations to offer a preventative oral health care benefit for adults on Medicaid. There were many people who attended, testified, wrote letters or called their legislators urging them to support this critical bill. This bill removes the language that prohibits the Medicaid managed care organizations from offering a dental benefit to recipients, but currently does not mandate them to offer such benefit. In addition, the bill requires the Commissioner of DHHS to establish a work group that will develop a value-based dental benefit for Medicaid recipients.
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