Tagged: DHHS

While work on the state’s next two year budget continues in the Senate, the Medicaid Enhancement Tax (MET), a levy on hospital revenue, still sits in the spotlight.

MET collection is $34 million short of estimates for this fiscal year. In Monday's Senate Finance Committee meeting, lawmakers expressed concern about overly optimistic forecasts for the next two year cycle.

Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick Toumpas testified before the committee. He says that while his agency oversees Medicaid, it doesn’t handle taxes.

The state Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to temporarily reopen 12 beds at the state’s psychiatric hospital.

The state now needs to find more than $2 million to cover the cost.

Mental health advocates say the plan to add beds at New Hampshire Hospital is an encouraging first step in addressing long waiting lists for treatment.

But Ken Norton with the state chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill says there is still much work to be done.

The Department of Health and Human Services is asking for $321 million more to cover their programs for the next two years.   

The Department of Health and Human Services released a report Thursday looking at Medicaid expansion in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire's Department of Health and Human Services has faced huge challenges in recent years – deep budget cuts, lawsuits, and, most recently, a crisis involving Exeter Hospital and patients infected with Hepatitis C. Now, its Commissioner NickToumpas must take the scalpel again to his budget, even as need for his agency’s services remains strong. We'll talk to him about that and other challenges in his department.

Guest

Nick Toumpas - Commissioner for the NH Department of Health and Human Services