NH Senate Passes SB 11-FN, to Address Emergency Room Boarding Crisis

CONCORD—Today, the New Hampshire Senate passed SB 11-FN-A, relative to mental health services, 16-8. This legislation would appropriate funds to address the New Hampshire mental health Emergency Room boarding crisis by increasing reimbursement rates for Designated Receiving Facilities (DRF) beds from $750 to $1,500 per day and increasing the capacity for DRFs and transitional housing facilities.

Prime sponsor Senator Tom Sherman, D-Rye, released the following statement after the vote:

“Every day in our state right now forty to seventy people are waiting in emergency rooms and hallways for the mental health services they need. As a physician, I am appalled by this affront to patient care but encouraged by today’s vote to begin to address this critical issue. I look forward to working with legislators from both sides of the aisle to build on today’s vote to ensure our citizens have access to the mental health care they need, when they need it, in facilities designed to meet their needs.”