Ayotte Says She Supports Medicaid Work Requirements, But Not All Of Trump's Bill

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH

BRETTON WOODS, NH — Gov. Kelly Ayotte laid out her priorities for any increased state spending if revenues continue on an upward swing and said she is evaluating impacts of President Trump's so called "Big Beautiful Bill" to see how it will impact the state, noting she does not support all of it.

She said her first priority in state spending would be to add support for the University System of New Hampshire, which saw budget cuts and the next priority would be to return funding for the arts which was drastically cut. If the state outperforms its revenue projections, state departments can go to the legislative fiscal committee for additional funding. There are large back-of-the-budget reductions in the Health and Human Services budget that could be relieved to help the most vulnerable, she said and that would be among her priorities.

Ayotte noted that June state revenue numbers were up approximately $10 million over what was projected "so we have continued to see more optimistic revenue for the state."

She also noted that the state had a sunny and busy Fourth of July weekend for tourism and wanted people to know that the state is open for business which can help the bottom line in terms of rooms and meals tax revenue.

"The sun's been shining so please come to New Hampshire," she said when discussing the budget with reporters on the veranda of the Omni Mount Washington Hotel, Wednesday following an executive council meeting there.

She said she is particularly looking to help fill some of the budget cuts to the University System particularly in the second year of the two-year budget.

And she said she will be leaning on the private sector to help fund the arts and possibly match those dollars raised.

In an email to the arts community, the NH State Council on the Arts said the new state budget will mean staff cuts.

"Due to budget decisions within the NH State Legislature, the NH State Council on the Arts will no longer operate as we have in the past. The 2026 Fiscal Year began July 1st and there is only funding allocated for one staff person. What has been a staff of seven will now be a staff of one.

"Instead of allocating general fund dollars that we typically use to achieve a federal match to support our staff, grant giving and to run programs, the legislators established a fund for private industry to make donations and receive a tax credit. The details of this fundraising effort are still being sorted out," the email suggested anyone with questions contact Arts Council Director Adele Sicilia at Adele.C.Sicilia@dncr.nh.gov.

As for the federal legislation that passed last week, Ayotte said she is evaluating the impact and there are aspects that she disagrees with.

"It looks like there are going to be reductions in SNAP. We are evaluating the impact on Medicaid. This is important because as governor of the state, my job is to make sure that we serve the most vulnerable citizens, working with Health and Human Services and other agencies and I want to obviously make sure that as we evaluate the impact of this bill...that we are prioritizing serving the people of New Hampshire that rely on SNAP for food and nutrition. So I will be looking at this very carefully."

While such cuts are in the offing, she said she will be looking at ways to mitigate the damage.

She said she does support the newly passed work requirement for health care for those who receive Medicaid.

She said it exempts those with disabilities and those with children under the age of 14.

"We will evaluate implementing the work requirements," she said but if a person is able-bodied they should be at work.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.