(The Center Square) – The New Hampshire Senate is poised to approve a two-year $15.7 billion budget that restores cut Medicaid funding and other changes sought by Gov. Kelly Ayotte in the spending plan.
The budget, teed up for a vote in the Republican-led chamber Thursday, calls for spending about $200 million more than a plan approved by the House of Representatives in April, and reverses cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates and funding for the developmentally disabled community.
Senators also scaled back proposed layoffs in the state Department of Corrections and restored the Office of the Child Advocate and the Arts Council, both of which were eliminated as part of the House’s budget plan.
Ayotte, a first-term Republican, had criticized the House for cutting another $640 million from the budget over her preliminary spending plan, particularly cuts for the elderly and Medicaid reimbursements.
“We need a responsible budget that serves our most vulnerable citizens, and I will remain involved in this process to ensure we deliver this for all of New Hampshire,” Ayotte said in a statement praising state senators for restoring the funding.
The Senate budget earmarks more than $52 million to reverse the 3% rate cuts to Medicaid providers approved as part of the House budget. The Senate plan also restores $37.8 million in state funding for mental health and developmental services.
The spending plan calls for another $85 million a year for the state University System, which includes the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State and Keene State. The House’s budget slashed $50 million in higher education funding, a more than 30% reduction from what Ayotte proposed in her budget.
Democrats, a distant minority in the state Legislature, have voiced opposition to the spending plan as it’s worked this way through the process. Many have raised concerns that the plan doesn’t do enough to brace for changes in funding from Washington, particularly as Congress considers new federal cuts to Medicaid spending.
Differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget will need to be worked out before the final plan lands back on Ayotte’s desk for consideration. The two spending plans are about $240 million apart, and legislative leaders will need to reach a compromise over the next few weeks.
Senate President Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, pointed out that New Hampshire benefited from an influx of federal funding during the COVID-19 pandemic but that dried up, forcing the state government to tighten its belt.
“Now, we have to go back to the New Hampshire way of living within our means,” she said Tuesday during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. “People were told this was one-time money. We can’t afford to carry it forward. And that’s why we had to make a lot of very, very difficult decisions.”
