Health Leaders Warn of Worsening Disparities as Medicaid Faces Cuts

Watch the Full Event Here

Concord, NH — Concord, NH — April 30, 2025 — As New Hampshire faces proposed cuts to Medicaid and ongoing health workforce shortages, state health leaders gathered today to issue a clear warning: systemic health disparities are putting entire communities at risk—and efforts to undermine Medicaid will only make things worse. At a virtual press event hosted by Protect Our Care NH, speakers called attention to the disproportionate impact of these disparities on communities of color, rural residents, and low-income families across the Granite State. From maternal health deserts in the North Country to rising chronic disease rates in underserved neighborhoods of Manchester and Nashua, the message was clear: access to care is not equal, and the consequences are felt across our schools, workplaces, and economy.

The event marked the end of Medicaid Awareness Month and called attention to the ongoing health disparities affecting communities of color and underserved regions across the state. The call featured Dr. Marie-Elizabeth Ramas, a family physician and health equity advocate with expertise in community medicine and public health policy. She currently serves as President-Elect of the New Hampshire Medical Society and a Board Member of the Endowment for Health. She is a key voice in addressing structural disparities in care across the state. And, Christin D’Ovidio, MFA, CCPH, the founder of Putney Consulting, where she specializes in public communication for behavior change around critical public health issues. She is also a board member of the Social Marketing Association of North America and a nationally recognized expert in public health media strategy.

Under the theme “Not the Same for Everyone: How Health Disparities Impact Communities of Color — and All of New Hampshire,” speakers emphasized how systemic inequities continue to create wide gaps in access to preventive care, maternal health, chronic disease management, and more. With Medicaid at risk in current state and federal budget negotiations, advocates warned that these disparities are likely to deepen unless action is taken.

“These inequities aren’t just data points — they’re our neighbors, our colleagues, our families,” said Dr. Marie-Elizabeth Ramas, “New Hampshire has about 200,000 Medicaid recipients as of the end of last year. And our numbers are proportionate to what we see nationally as far as the BIPOC population, Black, Indigenous, People of Color population within the state.And so that means that tens of thousands of Granite Staters that are persons of color or in historically excluded communities will lose access to Medicaid. What that means is not just maybe the typical person we might think of, but that also means hard workers, people that are holding full-time jobs, sometimes two and three, in order to support their families, younger families, as well as older individuals that have disabilities, as you mentioned before.”

Christin D’Ovidio, MFA, CCPH, said “Public health messaging isn’t one-size-fits-all. Communities face different barriers — from language and geography to the legacy of systemic racism, including unethical behaviors from the scientific and medical community in the past that led to certain groups of people being misinformed or uninformed about services and care they were getting. When you've broken trust, or if trust is broken repeatedly over time. And you can look at studies around access to care and different types of treatment different people get--there is a legitimate history where there is a layer of distrust that's well-deserved for many people. There are a lot of barriers to getting care, especially if there is stigma involved, all types of stigma, including around substance use disorders and mental health.”

Speakers noted that health disparities are not limited to communities of color. When entire populations lack access to affordable care, it drives up emergency room visits, reduces productivity, and leads to avoidable costs for the broader health system.
Protect Our Care NH urged lawmakers to reject Medicaid cuts and instead prioritize solutions that expand access, reduce disparities, and invest in the long-term well-being of New Hampshire communities.

You can watch the full event here, and learn more about the attack on health care here.