Editor’s note: InDepthNH.org plans to cover rallies and gatherings around the state whenever possible. Please email information and photos to Nancy West at nancywestnews@gmail.com.
Above, photo of a rally in Conway on March 4.
March 21 Conway Rally Demands Action to Save Medicaid
What: Conway, NH, March 20, 2025 – A group of Carroll County residents is mobilizing to call out the rising cost of living and dwindling social services in New Hampshire and demand budget and policy reversals from Governor Kelly Ayotte. As Tamworth resident Ted Morgan commented, “We ask that the Governor ensure that New Hampshire families do not face further Medicaid cuts at the State level that would risk multiplying the negative impacts of massive ongoing federal government cuts.”
Where: Gov. Ayotte is expected to visit Conway on Friday, March 21, to discuss proposed Medicaid cuts with affected agencies and the rally will be nearby from 12 to 2 p.m. at the corner of West Main Street and Route 16 in a small park there.
Background Information: On February 25, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution calling for $2 trillion in federal budget cuts over the next ten years, along with $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that experts say chiefly benefit the wealthiest Americans. House Republican leaders directed the Energy and Commerce Committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion from the budget over the next ten years. Analysis shows compliance with this direction requires well over $700 billion in cuts to Medicaid and the related Child Health Insurance Program.
Medicaid is a joint federal and state program created 60 years ago that helps cover medical costs for people with limited income and resources. The federal government has general rules that all state Medicaid programs must follow, but each state runs its own program with its own eligibility requirements and benefits.
Medicaid provides healthcare for at least one in five Americans, and 40 percent of all children. Sixty-three percent of nursing home residents and 41 percent of adults with disabilities receive Medicaid support. Medicaid provides health care coverage for over 183,000 low-income and vulnerable New Hampshire residents.
Federal cuts to Medicaid leave individual states to fill the gap to avoid vulnerable families and individuals losing much-needed assistance. But the current trend is to further reduce costs at the state level. Legislation is currently pending in New Hampshire to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, and Gov. Ayotte herself has proposed requiring premiums for some Medicaid recipients. Gov. Ayotte’s proposed budget also cuts support for independent living options for seniors and people with disabilities, affordable housing, renewable energy incentives, and public education.
Friday’s rally is an opportunity to demand that Gov. Ayotte reverse course on the proposed benefit cuts and other burdens that her proposed budget would impose on working families and vulnerable residents already struggling with rampant increases to cost of living and drastic cuts to federal assistance programs.
Contact for more information: Megan Chapman at 978-918-5048, Andy Davis at 603-452-4446, or Ted Morgan at 484-894-4497.