By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – Two contracts that could “literally save lives” of New Hampshire firefighters and first responders with early detection of potentially fatal illnesses were approved Wednesday by the state’s Executive Council.

The council also approved $265.4 million of federal funds it hopes to receive to make rural health care more connected and expects to hear whether that funding or a lesser amount will be received by the end of this year. The action will hopefully give the state a quicker turnaround to approve rural health-care grants that are desperately needed.

The program will be called GONORTH – an acronym for the Governor’s Office of New Opportunities and Rural Transformational Health – and will be voted on Friday by the joint legislative fiscal committee.

The council also approved cuts requested by DHHS due to a $51 million back-of-the-budget hole created when the Republican-controlled legislature passed the current biennial budget in June, which is receiving pushback from individuals who say the move unfairly cut services for children and the most vulnerable.

Lori Weaver, commissioner of DHHS, said the feedback received about the state proposal for federal funds is positive and that the package was well received, adding that if the state gets the money the council will know because it will hear a “primal scream” from her office.

EARLY FIREFIGHTER SCREENINGS

It includes a $2.2 million multi-cancer screening program and another $2.7 million contract for ultrasound diagnostic screening and lung scans. Firefighters face higher rates of cancer and earlier death rates due to occupational hazards and in 2024 the legislature passed $5 million to help with these screenings.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she believes the state’s efforts at early detection for this population will save lives and allow for early intervention.

DHHS CUTS CRITICIZED

With a staggering $51.5 million hole in its contract after the Republican-controlled legislature passed the current two-year budget this summer, a number of contracts to help individuals throughout the state were cut Wednesday with contract decreases approved totaling more than $3 million.

Weaver said it has not been easy to find contracts that could be reduced. “Nobody is getting services taken away (by these actions),” Weaver said.

But others in the community disagreed, saying people will lose services from dental work for Sununu Youth Services Center residents and others.

“I am very concerned,” Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, said. “It is inevitable that taxpayers will pay the price.” Liot Hill also said the losses will be shifted down to the local communities.

Ayotte rejected that, saying she is working with DHHS to not impact the most vulnerable.
“We are not going to pass this on to taxpayers,” Ayotte said.

The cuts include a contract with NFI North Inc. of Contoocook to reduce the $20 million contract by $1 million. The organization provides mental and behavioral health-care services https://www.nfinorth.com/.

Also approved was a contract reduction to provide dental services to youth at the Sununu Youth Services Center, a reduction of $80,000 for the Granite Pathways Manchester, and a more than $500,000 decrease to the University System of NH, as well as a number of reductions for other contractors and vendors.

There was reaction to the decision beyond the council table, much of it directed at lawmakers in Concord who are in the Republican majority in the House and Senate who approved the budget.

“This timing tells you everything you need to know about Republican priorities,” said Lucas Meyer, senior adviser and founder of Our Economy Our Future. “Instead of lowering costs, New Hampshire conservatives want to take dental care away from kids and let people in Grafton and Coos counties freeze to death. Instead of representing working families, they’re prioritizing tax cuts to a handful of out-of-state corporate CEOs who back their campaigns, rig the economy and drive up property taxes for the rest of us. Their playbook is clear, and so are the consequences: more and more for the wealthy, and less and less for the rest of us.”

According to Christina Warriner Hamilton, New Hampshire state director for Reproductive Equity Now, “The majority of lawmakers in New Hampshire are making the Granite State a worse place to live and thrive, and one of the clearest examples is the health-care crisis impacting women, moms and babies. The proposed DHHS budget cuts would be devastating for New Hampshire families.

“One of the most concerning proposals is the $2 million cut to home-visiting programs, which provide vital support for pregnant and postpartum women and their children. After just passing Momnibus 2.0 to expand access to home visiting for privately insured families, cutting these same services for Medicaid families would undo bipartisan progress and deny families the care they deserve. Amid an ongoing maternal health crisis in New Hampshire, our moms deserve state leaders who prioritize investing in health care for them and their families.”

Matt Mooshian, program director for 603 Forward, said, “Republicans had a chance to do something real about the housing crisis – and they chose to do nothing. Their budget made zero new investments in housing, even as rents exploded and young people were pushed out of New Hampshire.

“Now, at the same time, state leaders are voting today to carry out budget cuts that slash health and family services people rely on to stay housed and get back on their feet. You cannot end homelessness while cutting the very services that prevent it – and you certainly can’t do it while pushing corporate tax cuts that raise property taxes and squeeze communities even harder.

“That’s not leadership. It’s a rigged economy that asks young people and working families to pay more, get less and accept a future without any hope of real economic freedom,” Mooshian said.

“Our elected officials seem to have lost track of true Granite State values,” said Sarah Jane Knoy, executive director of the Granite State Organizing Project. “Hardworking NH families are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their children, while our politicians are cutting funding for homeless prevention, slashing elder care and ignoring our communities while funneling tax breaks to out of state billionaires. The decisions made in Concord impact our families, our schools and our communities in real ways  – every day. It is time that we hold our elected representatives responsible for the votes they take.”

NH HEALTH PROFESSIONALS PROGRAM GETS FOUR-MONTH EXTENSION
After the governor pulled a controversial contract off the agenda two weeks ago, the council approved a four-month contract extension for the existing contractor over an out-of-state bidder to provide monitoring for health-care professionals who face addiction and need to get clean to return to work.

The $3.5 million contract was debated several times by the Executive Council after Ulliance Inc. of Troy, Michigan, was selected over the existing contractor, the NH Health Professionals Program.

The New Hampshire group was given a contract extension running through April 2026 by the council on Wednesday. At previous meetings, Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, said the decision disregards the existing vendor and is dangerous.

That sentiment was shared by Councilor Liot Hill, who spoke on Wednesday.
“There is something very meaningful and valuable to an entity that has real roots,” she said.

Deanna Juris, executive director of the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, wrote in a letter to the governor that the contract will actually save the state almost $500,000.

While she did not do the scoring, a panel of three chose Ulliance after it outscored the New Hampshire firm on areas of program structure and budget justification. Liot Hill said she was pleased about the four-month extension.

“This contract would expire at the end of this year, so putting this in place enables continuity,” she said. “We need every single person in health care working right now.”

Liot Hill said she looks forward to working on a long-term decision for a new contract.
Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, said the existing contractor has been well received, adding that it should be up to the medical community to decide who does the job as they pay for it.

CHICOINE CONFIRMED AS COMMISSIONER OF ENERGY
Jared Chicoine of Gilmanton will get another term as commissioner of the Department of Energy after the council unanimously confirmed him for another four years.

FISH AND GAME COMMISSION NOMINATION
John Caveney of Spofford was nominated by the governor to the NH Fish and Game Commission to serve Cheshire County.

SPECIAL ELECTION SET FOR STATE REP. GLENN CORDELLI’S SEAT
A special election to fill the vacancy of Carroll County District 7 (Ossipee, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro) has been set.
It comes after Republican State Rep. Glenn Cordelli moved out of the district and resigned. Ayotte set the election with a Jan. 20, 2026, primary and a special election on March 10, 2026. If only one person from each party files, there will not be a primary and the special election will be on Jan. 20, she said.

GRANT TO HELP STRAFFORD COUNTY TABLED
A $25,000 Community Development Finance Authority contract with Saint Anselm College to work on housing policy and practices in Strafford County was tabled. Councilor Kenney said he would support the contract if it was described as a “pilot” program that might be available to other counties in the future to help advance locally driven solutions to housing challenges.

LIQUOR EMPLOYEE COMMENDATION
Ayotte recognized the 1,300 State Liquor employees for their service at 65 locations attracting 12 million shoppers a year. She said the state’s liquor agency has been recognized nationally and received numerous awards. Since 1934, profits have exceeded $4.7 billion to help the state in many ways. Ayotte said many of the employees have served for a long time.

A number of longtime employees attended the ceremony, including Susan Lessard, who has worked for 41 years.
“We’re very fortunate that you are so dedicated,” Ayotte said.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR MEGAN PHILBROOK HONORED
Serving as a teacher in Andover, Megan Philbrook was honored by the governor as NH 2026 Teacher of the Year from more than 100 nominees.
“I’m so passionate about education,” she said, thanking the governor and council for the commendation.

COUNCILOR STEPHEN ATTENDED REMOTELY
After suffering a major cardiac event while running in Florida just after Thanksgiving, Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, was allowed to participate and vote remotely after being released from the hospital.