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NH long-term supports face cuts: county cap, congregate housing suspension and developmental-services waitlist risks
Summary
Melissa Hardy, director of the Division of Long Term Supports and Services, told the Senate committee that the House proposal raises the county cap, suspends a congregate-housing program and removes funding that the division said was intended to prevent a developmental-disability waiver waitlist.
Melissa Hardy, director of the Division of Long Term Supports and Services at DHHS, told the Senate committee the division oversees services across the lifespan, including adult and aging services, developmental services and family-centered services.
Hardy said the House proposal increases the county cap to 3% year over year for the next biennium and, separately, would suspend a congregate-housing program that previously had been funded at $750,000 of general funds for two housing authorities. “The congregate housing program … provides gap services for people to stay in the community,” she said, and the suspension raises questions about whether low-income elders can remain in lower-cost community settings instead of assisted living or nursing facilities.
Hardy also reported that the House removed funding the governor proposed to address the developmental disabilities (DD) waiver waitlist. The department had requested funds included in the governor’s recommended budget but the House left the waitlist appropriation out, which Hardy said risks creating or extending a waitlist for DD waiver services. She said the department requested an extension of an existing DD pilot so five people currently in the pilot could remain on services until they age out in mid-2027.
Other items Hardy discussed included a request for additional room-and-board support for residential providers (current appropriations pay room and board for roughly 240 beds; the division said 306 beds are not covered by the room-and-board appropriation) and an earlier one-time recreational-services appropriation of $500,000 that the division already spent. Hardy said providers report rising costs and may close programs without additional room-and-board support.
Why this matters: Changes to county-match rules, a suspended congregate-housing appropriation and removal of DD waitlist funding could increase costs for counties, reduce community housing options for low-income seniors, and place pressure on developmental-services providers and families.
Hardy asked senators to consider the division’s prioritized requests: the pilot extension for five individuals, additional room-and-board funding to stabilize community residential providers and reconsideration of the congregate-housing suspension.
