Speeding up the roll: State needs to up its Medicaid rates so mental health agencies can hire people
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A year ago, the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services released its 10-year mental health plan, which Gov. Chris Sununu described last February as providing “a road map by which we will finally deliver the system that we need to address our mental health crisis.” Despite its 10-year span, Sununu promised aggressive action, pledging not to “slow roll” it. Indeed, substantial steps were taken in 2019 to implement the plan, and when DHHS issued a status report in late October, the governor said “meaningful progress” on the plan had been achieved.
The vexing problem of the state’s low Medicaid reimbursement rate, however, continues to challenge the system and warns the 10-year plan’s success — as well as the state’s important priority of addressing the opioid and substance abuse issue — is imperiled if the state doesn’t accelerate the reimbursement rate increases faster than currently contemplated.