Mental health advocates in New Hampshire are pushing for private insurance companies to cover care coordination services for children and youth through Senate Bill 128, included in the state budget. The bill would allow families to access support earlier and avoid crisis-driven interventions that often lead to costly state-funded care.
The Cost of Current System
Last year, New Hampshire spent $1.9 million to cover wraparound services for children with private insurance, costs that advocates argue should be shared by insurance providers. Michele Merritt, president of the nonprofit advocacy group New Futures, says insurance companies have a “perverse financial incentive to delay or deny access to new services because when they do, the burden and cost shift to the state to the taxpayer.” Without timely access to middle-tier behavioral health supports like FAST Forward (Families and Systems Together), children often decompensate until requiring inpatient hospitalization, at which point many become eligible for Medicaid and the state assumes full financial responsibility.
A Family’s Experience
Cheryl Guerin’s son began running away from school and programs at age 10, struggling with a mental health condition that led the family through emergency rooms and lengthy stays at Hampstead Hospital for four years. Everything changed when FAST Forward provided wraparound services offering peer support and care coordination. Though Guerin had employer-sponsored health coverage, “access to the FAST forward program was only possible once my son’s condition worsened to the point of eligibility for state services.” Today, her son has a 3.6 GPA and is near high school graduation.
Crisis Prevention
Susan Stearns, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire, said denying children early access to mental health services often results in them being physically restrained and injured, sometimes even when they willingly sought treatment. The Senate’s move to require private insurance companies to help cover these services could strengthen the state’s entire mental health system, expanding access without increasing state spending.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.concordmonitor.com/2025/06/12/mental-health-insurance-cost-concord-nh-61717501/