Senate Bill 455<\/a>, which would require the state to provide GLP-1 medications under the state Medicaid plan as a treatment for people with obesity.<\/p>\nAs of January, New Hampshire\u2019s Medicaid program has ended coverage for GLP-1 drugs like Saxenda, Wegovy and Zepbound for weight loss. The state still covers the medications when they\u2019re part of a treatment plan for other chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, certain cardiovascular diseases, severe sleep apnea and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH).<\/p>\n
According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, the state paid managed care organizations $49.5 million to cover GLP-1 medications between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. The policy change in January reduced that cost to $41 million.<\/p>\n
With these drugs gaining popularity, the state estimated that if were to resume covering GLP-1s for weight loss, it would need to spend an additional $24.2 million on top of the $41 million per fiscal year.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Ballard, chief medical officer at DHHS, said the agency opposes the bill, which would require Medicaid coverage for anyone with a body mass index above 30 seeking GLP-1 medications specifically for weight loss.<\/p>\n
Ballard said the state cannot afford such an expansion when budgets are already tight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe department does not have this money today,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, living within the realities of our current budget, there will be significant trade-offs. We will have to cut other things that are very important to the health and well-being of New Hampshire to pay for this unless there\u2019s some change.\u201d<\/p>\n
GLP-1 drugs carry a steep price tag that puts significant pressure on state budgets, particularly within Medicaid programs. Several states, including California, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, have moved to drop coverage of these medications for weight loss.<\/p>\n
Prentiss initially drafted her legislation with private insurers in mind, but later pivoted to focus on Medicaid to serve more vulnerable populations. She is covered by commercial insurance and said the outcome of the bill will not personally affect her.<\/p>\n
Lost coverage<\/p>\n
GLP-1 medications mimic a natural hormone in the gut that helps regulate blood sugar, digestion and appetite.<\/p>\n
Sarah Finn, section chief for obesity medicine at Dartmouth Health, said she has seen firsthand the impact on her patients after the state dropped Medicaid coverage for weight-loss GLP-1 drugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without access to these medications, patients experience increased hunger, cravings and persistent \u201cfood noise,\u201d as their bodies attempt to return to a higher fat percentage, a process known as metabolic adaptation, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the reality of the state I\u2019m in right now, where I don\u2019t have options except bariatric surgery for my Medicaid patients and a lot of times patients don\u2019t want to do a surgery,\u201d said Finn, at a hearing for the bill on Wednesday. \u201cWhat I have to tell that patient is there\u2019s nothing I could do to advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Department of Health and Human Services faced a $51 million budget cut when the New Hampshire Legislature passed its biennial budget last year, forcing the department to reduce several services.<\/p>\n
While Prentiss acknowledges the financial strain on the department, she wants the state to consider the long-term impact of using GLP-1s to prevent chronic conditions like diabetes, which is largely linked to weight gain and can drive up costs for the state over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy driving down obesity, we can drive down the costs that are related to it,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prentiss remains on GLP-1 medications and said she feels much healthier than before.<\/p>\n
She said that after a few months on the drugs, her blood sugar levels and kidney function began trending toward more normal ranges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not cosmetic,\u201d she said. \u201cObesity is a medical condition.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two years ago, Sue Prentiss got a sobering reality check at her doctor\u2019s office. The news was blunt:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,1258,524,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-389148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-latest-news","10":"tag-medication","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-16-at-10.44.17-PM.png\")
Sen. Sue Prentiss Credit: Courtesy<\/p>\n