Subcommittee advances two amendment paths to implement Medicaid work requirements, plans merged proposal for full committee

The Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Subcommittee met Nov. 5 for a work session on SB 100 and SB 134 and discussed two competing amendments (3051h and 3054h) to align New Hampshire law with new federal Medicaid work-requirement rules. Members conducted straw polls and agreed to advance both the bare-bones amendment (3051h) and a more detailed drafting (3054h), with staff directed to merge the two and present the merged amendment to the full committee on Nov. 12 at 10:00 a.m.

The meeting focused on technical differences between the amendments and operational questions about verification and program administration. Representative Coval described 3051h as the baseline change aligning state statute to federal requirements and suspending existing New Hampshire-specific work requirements while federal rules are in place. "Those work requirements that currently exist in New Hampshire statute, we're not going to repeal them, we're going to suspend them," Coval said. He said 3054h adds definitions and implementation detail, including a look-back requirement, documentary verification standards, and limits on self-attestation.

Key provisions discussed in 3054h and in committee questioning included:

- Look-back period: the amendment as drafted references a…