NH subcommittee reviews plan to implement federal Medicaid work requirements, schedules follow-up

CONCORD — The New Hampshire House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs subcommittee held a work session to review draft amendments to Senate Bill 134 that would implement federal Medicaid work requirements enacted in HR 1 (commonly called OB3).

Chairman MacLean opened the meeting by saying the panel’s focus was practical: “The question is not so much if as, how and when,” and asked staff to walk members through differences between the federal law and the state’s earlier 2018–2019 approach.

Why it matters: The federal law creates a mandate for certain Medicaid populations to meet community engagement or work activities before or to retain coverage; the subcommittee heard that the change affects adults roughly 19 through 64 and would require new IT, verification and outreach systems, new notice processes and twice‑annual eligibility checks.

Attorney John Williams, legislative director for health and services, told the panel the draft language aligns the state statute with the federal application template and would pause portions of the older state law while the federal requirement is in force. “My name is John Williams. I’m the legislative director for health and services,” Williams said as he introduced the draft language.

Director Littmann…