(The Center Square) — Drug-related fatalities in New Hampshire have dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade, according to a new report, which credits the state’s efforts to expand access to substance abuse treatment and prevention.
The report by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, released Tuesday, found that while New Hampshire experienced drug-related mortality rates above national averages from 2013 to 2020, both national and statewide data show the saw its largest decline in drug-related deaths in the last decade.
In 2024, about 287 Granite Staters died from opioids and other drug-related overdoses, the smallest number recorded since 2014, the report noted. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of drug-related deaths declined by an estimated 33.4%, the second consecutive year of declines and the sharpest year-over-year reduction across the previous ten years, according to the report.
The report’s authors attributed the sharp decrease in drug-related fatalities to state spending in substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services, particularly increases in prevention strategies and harm reduction services.
Over the past decade, New Hampshire has invested more than $834 million in substance use disorder services, a 450% increase since 2014, according to the report. That includes more than $120 million in the previous year.
Funding for the programs comes from federal Medicaid expansion, the federal State Opioid Response Grant program and settlement funds resulting from lawsuits with opioid manufacturers.
“These funding streams have improved the state’s ability to expand SUD services across New Hampshire,” the report said.
Like most states, New Hampshire has struggled with a wave of opioid addiction that public health officials say was exacerbated by the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 2,000 people have died of opioid-related overdose since 2020, according to data from the New Hampshire Information & Analysis Center.
The report authors said despite an increased investment in prevention, treatment and recovery, there are “significant” service gaps for Granite Staters who are seeking to get clean. In 2022 and 2023, nearly three out of four, or 74.4%, of New Hampshire residents aged 18 or older who needed SUD treatment did not receive it, the report stated.
Recent state and federal policy decisions, including work requirements and cost shares for Medicaid enrollees and funding adjustments included in President Donald Trump’s recently minted Big Beautiful Bill Act, could hinder substance abuse disorder service access and delivery, the report’s author said.
“While it is unclear how state and federal Medicaid changes may interact, early research suggests that changes included in the federal reconciliation law could result in many people losing health plan coverage,” they wrote. “Without continued investment and innovation, the progress made in reducing drug-related deaths could stall, or even reverse, putting more families and communities at risk.”
