A new report from the non-partisan New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute found that roughly one in eight Granite Staters were enrolled in Medicaid in 2024, a slight decrease compared to 2023.
The analysis comes as a convergence of both state and federal government measures could dramatically restrict access to this program, potentially leaving thousands of Granite Staters without health insurance.
Jess Williams, a policy analyst at the institute who wrote the report, said this decrease can be attributed in part to the rollback of COVID-19 pandemic measures in early 2023 that expanded access to Medicaid during the public health emergency.
“When we look at Medicaid numbers from [the Department of Health Services], this was a decline of approximately 25% from March 2023 to April 2024,” she said.
The biannual state budget, signed in June, calls for work requirements for enrollees of the state’s Medicaid Expansion Program, Granite Advantage starting next year. Combined with federal cuts to Medicaid, up to 20,000 New Hampshire residents could lose coverage, according to Williams.
The state budget also instituted premiums for Granite Advantage enrollees and the Children’s Health Insurance Program population.
Using census data, Williams and her colleagues found Medicaid enrollment was the highest in the North Country and lowest in Rockingham County. In the state Senate district encompassing Coos County and parts of Grafton county, approximately 20% residents were enrolled in the program.
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