It is often said that a budget is a statement of priorities, a reflection of the choices that the people – through their elected representatives – make about the amount of public resources they wish to devote to meeting shared goals and the relative importance they assign to each of those goals.

NHFPI aims to illustrate recent budget trends, highlight future challenges, and examine the ways in which the New Hampshire budget is used to educate the state’s children, ensure access to health care, promote public safety, maintain public structures, and achieve other critical public priorities.

Latest State Budget Publications

• Proposed Database Purchase Costly, Duplicative and Potentially Less Effective than Existing Safeguards May 2, 2012 NHFPI looks at the eligibility determination system and verification protocols currently used to ensure funds for New Hampshire's Financial Assistance to Needy Families program, Medicaid and Food Stamps are used appropriately. Lawmakers are considering adding a new layer of enforcement. More specifically, HB 1658, presently before the Senate Finance Committee, would require the state to buy or build a new computerized income and identity verification system. A closer examination of the proposal reveals several potential concerns, including evidence that the proposed database searches are likely to lead to false positives because they flag information that is flawed or irrelevant to eligibility.
• Critical Questions Remain Unanswered in Medicaid Managed Care Contract April 11, 2012 While managed care holds the promise both to improve the quality of care Medicaid members receive and to reduce the costs the state incurs in administering the program, numerous questions associated with the contract must be answered in order for New Hampshire to achieve those goals. This Issue Brief does not offer a comprehensive list of such questions, but instead focuses on two areas: ensuring access to care for Medicaid members and assessing the effectiveness of managed care over time.
• Key Questions to Consider in Implementing Medicaid Managed Care in New Hampshire September 21, 2011 New Hampshire’s legislature approved changes to the state’s Medicaid program that require the development of a managed care system. This holds promise for reducing costs and even improving care, but New Hampshire’s previous experiences with managed care and those of other states suggest this may not be easy. Potential savings may be modest and take time to materialize. This Issue Brief identifies some of the pitfalls New Hampshire may face when it comes to implementing a risk-based managed care system for Medicaid patients.
• Tobacco Tax Cut Likely to Lose Millions in Revenue, Leave FY12-13 Budget Out of Balance June 21, 2011 House and Senate lawmakers agreed to reduce the state's cigarette tax by 10 cents per pack and lower taxes on other tobacco products as part of the two-year budget starting July 1. Based on the latest data available from state revenue officials, this is likely to reduce tax revenue by at least $14 million to $30 million. It now appears that budget negotiators failed to account for any such revenue loss, meaning that the budget for the coming biennium will likely end up out of balance.
• The Senate's FY 2012-2013 Budget Proposal June 6, 2011 For the most part, the Senate followed the path laid by the House in its version of the budget, imposing substantial spending reductions across a wide array of vital public services. In broad terms, the budget supported by the Senate would lower General and Education Fund expenditures roughly $240 million or approximately 5 percent. Like the House, the Senate would cut payments for uncompensated care, reduce local aid and curtail support for higher education.