Committee Summary for Senate Health and Human Services (10/21/2025)

Rochefort, David(Chairman)(R)	Avard, Kevin(V Chairman)(R)[C+]2024	Birdsell, Regina(R)[C+]2024
Prentiss, Suzanne(D)[F]2024	Long, Pat(D)

Bill/Time	Type	Title	Sponsor
HB126 2025-3020s 00:09:16.720 - 12:06:17 PM	Executive Session	relative to prescriptions for certain controlled drugs.	Popovici-Muller, Daniel(R)[A+]2024
HB705 00:14:46.720 - 12:11:47 PM	Executive Session	relative to health care cost transparency.	Ammon, Keith(R)[A+]2024
SB136 00:28:35.200 - 12:25:36 PM	Executive Session	establishing an uncompensated care assessment, fund, and committee within the department of insurance.	Altschiller, Debra(D)[CT]2024
SB256 2025-3018s 00:30:22.480 - 12:27:23 PM	Executive Session	relative to the affordability and safety of clinician administered drugs.	McGough, Tim(R)

HB126 2025-3020s: Senator Roer Support00:09:16.720 - 12:06:17 PM; Senator Roer explains the amendment to align injectable androgen prescriptions with topical ones, allowing up to a 92-day supply for chronic low testosterone treatment. He notes the original bill's cumbersome requirement of 12 prior monthly prescriptions is unnecessary due to the prescription drug monitoring program preventing doctor shopping. The amendment simplifies the process, matching standard pharmacy practices, and accommodates typical dosing from 10ml bottles.
HB705: Commissioner of Insurance Support00:14:46.720 - 12:11:47 PM; The Commissioner outlines the bill's requirements for health plans to publish in-network rates, out-of-network allowed amounts, and prescription drug files in a standardized public format overseen by the NH Insurance Department. It includes flexibility for carriers, good faith compliance protections, and defaults to federal rules if conflicts arise. This advances NH's transparency efforts, avoids federal preemption, and ensures local oversight over federal bureaucracy. He notes federal rules are pending but the bill positions NH to comply efficiently.
HB705: Dr. Jason Azis, Director of Data Analytics Information Only00:21:07.039 - 12:18:08 PM; Dr. Azis emphasizes the bill's role in standardizing data formats for comparability across health insurance actors, addressing federal shortcomings in uniformity. This improves utility for consumers by enabling apples-to-apples comparisons beyond the limited 300 services in NH Health Costs, covering over 10,000 services using claims data for better cost estimation.
HB705: Senator Prentice Information Only00:18:57.360 - 12:15:58 PM; Senator Prentice questions the timeline for federal regulations, expected post-holding pattern in February, and confirms the bill's flexibility. He inquires about impacts on carriers and crosswalks with NH Health Costs, noting carriers are already partially compliant but in varied formats. He seeks summary of carrier conversations, affirming non-punitive implementation and NH's high transparency standards.
HB705: Senator Long Information Only00:26:18.559 - 12:23:19 PM; Senator Long asks about federal oversight preferences, with the Commissioner confirming feds encourage state authority. He highlights the need for uniform presentation to enable consumer comparisons, addressing issues where carriers present data differently, enhancing tools like NH Health Costs.
SB136: Chair (Senator) Information Only00:28:35.200 - 12:25:36 PM; The Chair moves for interim study on uncompensated care in mental health, noting ongoing discussions with the mental health community and payers. This important issue persists, and the goal is to return with a more workable proposal later.
SB256 2025-3018s: Senator Usher Support00:30:22.480 - 12:27:23 PM; Senator Usher provides background on brown bagging (payers sending drugs to patients for administration) and white bagging (insurers sending specialty drugs to facilities). The amendment prohibits brown bagging due to concerns and sets guidelines for white bagging, ensuring communication between pharmacies, opt-out options, and allowing it for cost savings while addressing handling/storage issues and facility concerns. It was developed with input from hospitals and Senator McHugh, who support it.
SB256 2025-3018s: Senator Prentice Support00:32:56.399 - 12:29:57 PM; Senator Prentice thanks Senator Usher for the work to protect patients and address provider concerns, helping get the bill across the finish line.