[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6361308,"mediaKeyId","2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b","parentId",2170847,"title","Lawmakers hear hours of testimony on proposed Medicaid ban for non'therapeutic infant circumcision","audioSeconds",6335,"startMs",13035000,"endMs",19370000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b&start=13035&end=19370","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b/thumbnail_13035000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6361308/New-Hampshire/Lawmakers-hear-hours-of-testimony-on-proposed-Medicaid-ban-for-nontherapeutic-infant-circumcision","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6361308-a6e3aac2022ad105967f3de3c416c2a0/orig.mp4?Expires=1771212126&Signature=HCF05ie4YuWM7aMzaCZTBtnJHvItr6sb41mWqyo6rZsY6hpwfFYbewPR8z4cl~jcIUsjm9oevgrPLXVLtgTrdB2CPITslL-Y9l5UFf24i-kgsidSOG1Ksn52VNgQ13aQhIm1oO~Kw~k1-lvpqcxSDV-aoKQ-irxAKM-dM3RYMEbetGgk4J16yZQFujgeRWLEyeMkfRR-vqHS-CD~kYAP4AMqAHP3J9Wk~ZVH-hmjjDHDoVnuDu3Tc~JpCJRxtUCsm9jnVdBdWwKIucfT4AvqlgjJAWjT~aWLa6f0fIbESlnaZFX6x3-jMkbtC6gdabJMEm7cDE-JvL8JW6PnCYZtmg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","NH House of Representatives Committee","date","2025-01-29T00:00:00Z","article","The House Health Committee heard multi-hour public testimony on House Bill 94-FN, which would bar public (Medicaid) reimbursement for non-therapeutic, neonatal circumcision unless the procedure is medically necessary.

Representative Julia Sauty, the bill's prime sponsor, framed the proposal as a health-care-spending and bodily-autonomy measure and said public funding should not be used for an elective, non-therapeutic removal of tissue from a child. \"For Medicaid to pay for circumcision is an immoral taking of the child's bodily autonomy,\" she said.

Opponents and supporters offered sustained and often emotional testimony. Supporters who favor limiting Medicaid coverage argued that neonatal circumcision is not medically necessary for most boys, cited complication rates, and raised fiscal and ethical concerns about hospitals' commercial partnerships that obtain foreskin tissue for biomedical uses. Several witnesses described personal harms from botched circumcisions and urged the committee to stop public reimbursement.

Opponents, including Rabbi Robin Naftali and other religious leaders, said the bill would create a barrier to religious practice for families who rely on Medicaid and asked the committee to consider the First Amendment implications. Rabbi Naftali and other witnesses noted that Jewish and Muslim ritual practice commonly places circumcision in the first days of life.

Medical and nursing witnesses were divided. Several clinicians and researchers urged caution about removing Medicaid reimbursement without a broader plan for public education and follow-up care; they said families might lack prenatal counseling and that reducing newborn access to hospital-based procedures could shift care and costs later in life. Others, including a general-surgery resident, argued surgeons should not perform a non-therapeutic amputation of healthy tissue and noted that many international pediatric bodies do not recommend routine neonatal circumcision.

Committee members asked technical questions about medical-necessity definitions, fiscal effects and prior examples from other states. Witnesses cited varying statistics: New Hampshire'level circumcision rates were described in testimony as about 76% (higher than the national average reported by some witnesses), complication-rate estimates in testimony ranged from \"1 in 6\" to \"1 in 20\" depending on definition, and the committee received conflicting fiscal projections in the written record. DHHS fiscal-notes were described in testimony as \"indeterminate;\" some witnesses said removing reimbursement could save roughly $50,000'$100,000 in state costs while others warned it could increase downstream costs for corrective surgery.

A number of witnesses described organized efforts to oppose or support the bill: advocacy groups for bodily autonomy and intact foreskin rights testified in favor of the Medicaid restriction, while religious organizations and some clinicians opposed changing Medicaid coverage.

The committee closed public testimony after extensive comment and did not take a final vote at the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs (01/29/2025)","oneSentenceSummary","Public testimony split across parents, medical professionals, advocates and religious leaders over a bill that would bar Medicaid reimbursement for non'therapeutic infant circumcision; witnesses debated medical necessity, informed consent, cultural and religious practice, and a controversial commercial market for foreskin tissue.","taxTitle","Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs, House of Representatives, Committees\t, Legislative, New Hampshire","taxId",17754,"location","New Hampshire","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6361313,"Lawmakers refine 'harm reduction' language and add law-enforcement seat as debate centers on scope and safeguards",2594,5377000,7971000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b&start=5377&end=7971","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b/thumbnail_5377000.jpg","/articles/6361313/New-Hampshire/Lawmakers-refine-harm-reduction-language-and-add-law-enforcement-seat-as-debate-centers-on-scope-and-safeguards","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6361313-0644348afb751f77fabcc0302b1817d6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771212126&Signature=e-LqkOYy-AbYBwVf73N-6AOJy25fTJu10yxn0cqz3thkrjsDHOKfc-gaowGQOS7BpKJnhoZiGXLis-brzMD2oJ4y-voJOiA9vjk0eIqx6Kjq16As1OfvuM~651Hu8fpX2gM8JKu8iQX25IuKeK69ZXSr-XO-KnCSoZa1t-PNPY6y3cCucmS1ZN6MtBhw6LFps0PCdLQbKOKjAjDWT6RlL9NrcipQnx-JVBJIAwuAHJ1eqibS0NBMK99tQY9kNWCRpmx0QwAt5YSxHA-pRq0Y49iKFEtNuUr6q7Dz~HnTDwUrw81vPnXOFt-YoOz29y6FuTG0XLxEE92lYKD9f1BDYQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sponsors and stakeholders told the House Health Committee that refining the statutory language on \"harm reduction\" would let the state's opioid-response work continue while adding safeguards for communities.

Representative David Nagel, who helped shepherd the legislation, said the governor's commission on alcohol and other drugs already funds harm-reduction activities through a formula based on an alcohol-abatement fund and that placing an explicit, statutory definition in law would align the commission's terms with federal grant language and clarify allowable activities. He described harm reduction broadly as tertiary prevention: measures to minimize damage from active substance use.

The bill was reshaped after negotiation among sponsors, members of the governor's commission and stakeholders. The language now uses the phrase \"reduction of societal and individual harm\" and lists specific activities the commission may support, including Doorways (community access hubs), naloxone distribution, syringe-access programs and coordination with prevention, treatment and recovery services. Testimony said the measure would not authorize supervised consumption (safe drug administration) sites and would not require new statewide funding; rather, it clarifies existing commission authority and funding channels.

Senator David Waters and Representative Jess Edwards said the amendment adds a seat for a representative of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police and requires consultation with local law enforcement when programs touch municipal operations. Chief Dave Suckling of the Alexandria Police Department and representatives of the New Hampshire Chiefs of Police Association testified in support, saying law-enforcement partners can strengthen program implementation and community trust.

DHHS staff said the programs currently active in New Hampshire fit within prevention, treatment and recovery models and that statutory clarity would help agencies apply for federal grants that use \"harm reduction\" language. Questions from committee members focused on safeguards, whether the bill would pre-empt local decisions, and how the statute would treat controversial interventions; staff and sponsors repeatedly emphasized the bill's guardrails and the continued need for legislative and executive oversight.

Public testimony included recovery and police representatives who described local successes with naloxone distribution, doorways hubs and outreach that connects people to treatment. Several legislators and witnesses said the bill narrows an ambiguous term rather than expanding authority.

No formal committee vote was recorded at the hearing; the committee closed public testimony after several hours of testimony.","A bipartisan compromise rewrites references to \"harm reduction\" as \"reduction of societal and individual harm,\" adds law-enforcement consultation and a police-chiefs seat on the governor's commission, and keeps existing programs such as Doorways and syringe exchange in statute while excluding supervised drug-injection sites from authorization.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6361317,"Bill aims to revive and broaden New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders; members say vacancies prevent quorum",1119,4299000,5418000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b&start=4299&end=5418","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b/thumbnail_4299000.jpg","/articles/6361317/New-Hampshire/Bill-aims-to-revive-and-broaden-New-Hampshire-Council-on-Autism-Spectrum-Disorders-members-say-vacancies-prevent-quorum","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6361317-af4f30d9757f2479d3e422551018bcf0/orig.mp4?Expires=1771212126&Signature=mueHH6J~rnt2X-wDp7aDSm34vGZ8R491LQyv5SXvXkAHOcWHhPFnm7DKAS269vGwAB27ynbf56kwvxMuS8YWXgLj8-hc2Z6wN~H-kKvGkqh2fFl8uZXVAf7rJL292S30JlqEm3FeQjpPktw2-~PHMIqAcHDSaLOxgXxvgmX3PBDl1ddZxsDsNlOYvWZAg9Helrcwb457EZl9rgEBvz8yjcbiVlO-rqPxpRSmt4P98tj0TjFnP6FgMpCBXHxYdJY6wOu5wtgVsQIntDXcOVzVqrfgYE2BgowIlv~WITmVZpoTw7DavXToj-6uBxILptvXUIybGHInVF~UOQBNtmStIg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Jerry Stringham told the House Health Committee that House Bill 634 would update the New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders' mission and membership to make it more representative and effective.

Stringham said the council was created about 15 years ago but its work \"fell off\" and that the council itself recommended changes to refresh membership, add seats for people with autism and family members, and simplify appointment procedures to address chronic vacancies. \"This bill is an important step to revive the council and fulfill its mission,\" Stringham said.

Marissa Berg, a council member, described listening sessions the council held in November 2024 and said people with autism and families asked for stronger representation on the council, prioritized inclusion of adults with lived experience, and for the council to focus on education and access to resources. She summarized the bill's proposed changes: two dedicated seats for people with autism, two family-member seats, a seat for a New Hampshire self-advocacy organization, a seat for a clinical service provider and five at-large seats the council would appoint with priority to people with lived experience.

Isadora Rodriguez Le Gendre, executive director of the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities and interim vice chair of the autism council, told the committee the proposed adjustments would help reach people who do not qualify for developmental-services funding (for example, autistic adults who do not have intellectual disability). She also said the bill includes a provision allowing remote participation by people with disabilities to count toward quorum in some circumstances and that many current vacancies are governor-appointed seats that have delayed the council's ability to meet.

Representative Jess Edwards, a co-sponsor, said the primary problem is chronic vacancy and inability to form quorums; he urged the committee to give the council a chance to meet more reliably under the proposed membership changes.

The committee heard no agency opposition; members asked questions about quorum mechanics, whether the council duplicates the Developmental Services Quality Council and how the council would increase the role of adults with autism.

No formal committee action was taken at the hearing; the committee closed public testimony and proceeded to other bills.","Sponsors and council members asked the House committee to update the council's membership and mission to increase lived-experience representation and fix quorum problems that have limited the panel's work.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6361323,"NH bill would add ALS to state'reportable conditions; sponsors and DHHS spar over cost and scope",3978,318000,4296000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b&start=318&end=4296","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2170847-69502bd0c3be6e162ca69e2b9a1e2d0b/thumbnail_318000.jpg","/articles/6361323/New-Hampshire/NH-bill-would-add-ALS-to-statereportable-conditions-sponsors-and-DHHS-spar-over-cost-and-scope","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6361323-d0560102b802c547878e56326940e7ea/orig.mp4?Expires=1771212126&Signature=ItlWyxxD2RXfDwbmDTsronXWdFK-unVUN3AZM6i0BpsKPyZt5plzJwK2SRv8XYbZeBKsYwg-G-GOxmzfXwP96Dw8ncoCQAF327-eBTRPYCdLT4swIYI3MYEct6Woo5k8-SYbrFNS5r7g81Avf9GljaV3q9VE3gwDn2erJLL0u2~D0PFIvCpTajroCpFCFiMrp4ffcZEMwH8DS5KDEB0fQiT6rHaYMc7GiHiEI7aWuqjha3j-M8IDNnSYc7QmtE3T59P7NGWzvhZHsQIjElo8dDDqdkbSqcv~wgZqs~1cUYg20e1W9w-K1WxTe1wesjrh2qr8MY99B8NLY1GXmBfAjQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Rosemarie Rung urged the House Committee on Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs to approve House Bill 576-FN, a measure that would add amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to the state'statute listing \"critical health problems\" and require providers to report diagnoses to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Rung said the state lacks any current count of ALS cases and that a registry or simple case count is needed to understand local incidence and to detect possible environmental links, especially to toxic cyanobacteria blooms that have increased in New Hampshire lakes. \"I just want to get a count,\" Rung told the committee, citing clusters found elsewhere and estimates that national ALS diagnoses could grow markedly over coming decades.

DHHS officials, including Whitney Hammond, interim deputy director of the Division of Public Health, and Jacqueline Chawla, bureau chief for Public Health Statistics and Informatics, told the committee that the statutory change would trigger administrative-rulemaking and require building a HIPAA'compliant data system, staff time and quality-control processes. Hammond said the department currently has no information system tied to the statutory \"critical health problem\" category and estimated that constructing, validating and securing a registry would take months and substantial up-front contracting costs.

Rung and several legislators pushed back on DHHS's fiscal-note estimates and staffing plan, comparing the proposed costs to neighboring states. Rung cited Vermont's initial implementation cost estimate of $75,000'$100,000 and Massachusetts' annual registry budget of under $203,000 as evidence DHHS's numbers look high. Legislators pressed DHHS on alternatives such as contracting with an academic center or reusing existing systems used for the lead-poisoning registry, but DHHS staff said the data elements and reporting streams differ and would require investigation before reuse could be confirmed.

Committee members also explored narrower statutory approaches that would require only a minimum data submission (case count and usual residence) rather than full registry functionality. DHHS officials responded that the current statute references administrative-rulemaking that defines required data elements, validation and reporting responsibilities; without that rulemaking the department cannot safely implement a low-cost ad hoc reporting process and must plan for infrastructure, identity verification, and quality assurance.

Testimony from the Rare Disease Advisory Council and researchers reinforced sponsors' concerns about ALS surveillance; several speakers said improved data would help families and researchers and could inform future workforce and home-health planning in lake-region communities. Public commenters urged the committee to approve the bill or pursue a modest reporting approach to establish a baseline count.

No formal action was taken in the hearing; the committee heard public and agency testimony and closed the hearing on HB 576-FN.

If the committee moves forward, key choices remain: whether to require only a minimal, time-limited count of diagnoses; whether to authorize DHHS to rely on an existing registry or contract with a medical center; and how to balance privacy (HIPAA) and validation requirements with cost and speed of implementation.","Rep. Rosemarie Rung urged the House Health Committee to add amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to the state's \"critical health problems\" statute so DHHS will count cases; DHHS officials said the change requires new rules, a HIPAA-compliant data system and substantial startup costs.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Lawmakers hear hours of testimony on proposed Medicaid ban for non'therapeutic infant circumcision

Lawmakers refine 'harm reduction' language and add law-enforcement seat as debate centers on scope and safeguards

Bill aims to revive and broaden New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders; members say vacancies prevent quorum

NH bill would add ALS to state'reportable conditions; sponsors and DHHS spar over cost and scope