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New Hampshire to end Medicaid coverage for weight loss drugs – Valley News

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New Hampshire to end Medicaid coverage for weight loss drugs – Valley News


Starting Jan. 1, New Hampshire’s Medicaid program will stop covering GLP-1 drugs — Wegovy, Zepbound, and others — for weight loss.

“We looked at the way that the state was supporting coverage for GLP-1 medicines and found that this was a fairly significant cost driver,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters on Wednesday. “And so we looked at the medically necessary reasons for it in terms of those who had pre-existing conditions and made the decision working with Health and Human Services to come up with a modified policy that will still allow medications in those circumstances, but then really make sure it is cost sustainable going forward.”

The Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention wrote a letter to Ayotte Tuesday urging her to reconsider the decision. The organization noted that approximately 30% of women in New Hampshire — and a disproportionately large number of women of color — experience obesity and that obesity is associated with over 200 health complications, citing the American Medical Association and KFF.

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Ayotte said Wednesday she would not reconsider the decision.

There are roughly 186,000 enrolled in Medicaid in New Hampshire, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. About 54% of them are women.

“When we’re talking about 180,000 enrollees, children and adults, that’s over 90,000 women who are Medicaid beneficiaries who may be living with obesity and could take advantage of receiving the obesity management medications basically to stem those comorbidities that are associated with living with obesity,” Millicent Gorham, CEO of the Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention, said in a phone interview with the Bulletin Thursday. “We’re talking about diabetes and high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease and cancer. So if we can stem those diseases, then hopefully we can have more healthier people living in New Hampshire.”

Gorham said the change, announced by the Department of Health and Human Services in October, may provide short-term cost savings but will be more expensive in the long run.

“People are going to be living longer with obesity, which is going to lend to any number of the other 200 comorbidities that are aligned with living with obesity,” she said. “And clearly, when you’re talking about things like diabetes and cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure and cancer and fertility issues that are specific to women, they’re going to end up with higher costs specifically related to those diseases and also specifically related to higher hospitalization costs.”

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Gorham pointed to the stigma surrounding obesity and weight loss drugs.

“People really may not understand that people living with obesity is not just about an alternative lifestyle,” she said. “It really is a chronic disease. That’s the first thing that they need to understand: It is a chronic disease, no different than high blood pressure, no different than diabetes, and we need to treat it like that. No other disease has to take on the kind of scrutiny that obesity takes on.”

The Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention has launched a nationwide effort with a coalition of other health advocacy groups called Everybody Covered to push policymakers to improve coverage of GLP-1 drugs and other obesity treatments.

As of October, 16 states cover GLP-1 drugs, according to KFF. In addition to New Hampshire, California and South Carolina plan to end coverage of the drugs in January. North Carolina ended coverage last month while Michigan plans to limit coverage to people who are “morbidly obese.” The states say they can’t afford the drugs.

The Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention has been lobbying several states to maintain coverage of the drugs. Gorham said New Hampshire’s response has been “pretty much kinda the same” as other states.

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GLP-1 drugs have been shown to be effective for weight loss, though they come with a number of side effects for some patients, including nausea, vomiting, headaches, diarrhea, and constipation, according to Harvard Medical School and the Cleveland Clinic. While some experts and researchers have concerns about the drugs’ long-term impact and safety, many argue the benefits outweigh the known risks.



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Tiger Woods arrested on suspicion of DUI, authorities say

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Tiger Woods arrested on suspicion of DUI, authorities say


JUPITER ISLAND — Tiger Woods showed signs of impairment Friday at the scene of a car crash in which he struck another vehicle and rolled his Land Rover, authorities said.

Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said Woods was not injured.

The crash occurred just after 2 p.m. not far from where Woods lives on Jupiter Island.

Woods’ manager at Excel Sports did not immediately respond to a text message seeking information.

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This was at least the third time Woods has been involved in a car crash, most recently in February 2021 when his SUV ran off a coastal road in Los Angeles at a high rate of speed, leading to multiple leg and ankle injuries. Woods said later doctors considered amputation.

Woods has played 11 tournaments since that 2021 crash, not finishing closer than within 16 shots of the winner the four times he finished 72 holes.

He also was arrested on a DUI charge in 2017 when south Florida police found him asleep behind the wheel of his car that was parked awkwardly with damage to the driver’s side. Woods said he had taken a bad mix of painkillers. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

Woods won his fifth Masters, and 15th major, in 2019. He has 82 wins on the PGA Tour, tied for the all-time record with Sam Snead.

Woods, 50, had been working his way back to golf from a seventh back surgery in September. He had not decided whether he could play in the Masters on April 9-12.

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His last official tournament was the British Open in 2024. Woods ruptured his Achilles tendon in March 2025 and that kept him off the course all season even before the back surgery. He managed to play in his indoor TGL golf league on Tuesday night.

He has kept deeply involved in PGA Tour affairs as chairman of the Future Competition Committee that is restructuring the model of the tour.

Woods also faced a soft deadline at the end of the month to decide whether to become U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland. Woods was offered the job for the last Ryder Cup and did not turn it down until June. The PGA of America wants a decision much sooner this time.

Copyright 2026 NPR

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Hillary Clinton to return to New Hampshire | Fox News Video

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Hillary Clinton to return to New Hampshire | Fox News Video


Hillary Clinton is returning to New Hampshire next month to headline the state’s Democratic Party’s annual spring fundraising dinner. A progressive leader criticizes the party as ‘tone-deaf’ for inviting Clinton, stating she’s ‘yesterday’s news.’ Fox News contributor Joe Concha weighs in on Clinton’s perceived comeback tour and discusses President Trump’s recent remarks about John F. Kennedy Jr.’s political ambitions.



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NH lawmakers approve bill that would make judges’ job evaluations public

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NH lawmakers approve bill that would make judges’ job evaluations public


A bill that would add elements to judicial performance evaluations for all state judges and make those evaluation reports public, cleared the New Hampshire House along party lines Thursday.

The bill’s backers, including Rep. Bob Lynn of Windham, former Chief Justice of New Hampshire Supreme Court, promoted the new requirements as a way to “invigorate” judicial performance, and said fully disclosing the reports is crucial.

“I have to emphasize this provision in the bill as well as the other provisions of the bill were adopted in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” Lynn said

Under the bill, which was written with input from Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, all judges – including part-time judges and retired judges who sometimes hear cases – would undergo evaluation at least every three years. Evaluations would include courtroom observations and analyses of how efficiently they process cases. Right now, judicial performance reviews remain confidential unless a judge receives two consecutive subpar evaluations.

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The proposal comes at a time of tension between the judicial branch and lawmakers, spurred by recent court rulings finding the state isn’t meeting school funding obligations, and by judicial branch spending and management practices.

Democrats who criticized the new judicial evaluation bill say it goes too far and that the legislature should resist the urge to meddle in court operations.

“Many of us have been frustrated by recent activities coming out of the judicial branch – this is probably a bipartisan sentiment,” said Rep. Mark Paige of Exeter. “But to the extent that this bill appeals as a means to scratch your judicial frustration itch, consider other available remedies.”

Democrats also argued that making judicial reviews public could pose safety risks in an era of increased political violence including against judges.

“Publication would do real harm, inviting harassment of judges as violent threats against U.S judges have surged 327 percent since last year,” said Rep. Catherine Rombeau of Bedford, citing research from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

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But Republicans disputed such arguments, and said public reviews are also one of the few tools lawmakers have to make sure judges are performing their duties effectively.

“Judges are appointed once and serve until the age of 70,” said Rep. Ken Weyler of Kingston.

“All employees, including judges, benefit from constructive evaluation.”





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