New Hampshire
Fewer options, more confusion for Medicare enrollment in New Hampshire this year
The enrollment period for Medicare began Oct. 15 and lasts until Dec. 7. But this year, there are fewer options for Medicare Advantage plans, requiring more work for many patients and healthcare providers during and after enrollment.
Major insurance carriers like Anthem and Martin’s Point have pulled out of Medicare Advantage in New Hampshire. Aetna has also pulled out of most counties in the state while some counties, like Coos, only have two options for seniors.
According to the New Hampshire Insurance Department, 77,000 seniors are affected by these Medicare Advantage changes.
At an information session this week at the Concord Public Library, Tim Harrigan, a state-licensed, private Medicare plan advisor, walked Medicare enrollees through the process of signing up for the program. Harrigan offers services to seniors for free, and is paid by most insurance carriers that serve Medicare Advantage plans.
One thing Harrigan teaches enrollees is how to navigate the many calls a person might receive once they’re eligible for Medicare, including from scammers.
“Medicare will never, ever call you ever, unless you reached out to them, and they’re getting back to you,” Harrigan told the group at Concord Public Library. “The Social Security Administration will never, ever call you unless you reached out to them, and they’re getting back to you with a response.”
Harrigan says it’s best for seniors to reach out to their local Social Security office, rather than using a 1-800 number from a third party, especially if they can’t confirm who they are speaking to.
A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Insurance department encouraged patients to call Medicare directly at 1-800-Medicare or contact ServiceLink, New Hampshire’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for free counselors that can help them navigate enrollment.
During this current enrollment period, Harrigan said he’s been working everyday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. trying to get people enrolled. The biggest concern he’s seen so far is that seniors are losing their current plans starting next year. He worries that some might not be able to access some of the region’s top hospitals, as they have in the past.
“If you live in northern or western New Hampshire, there’s really only one option, and that’s an HMO plan where the local doctors are not in the network,” Harrigan said. “For example, Dartmouth-Hitchcock isn’t in the network with that company. So the only network facilities they’ll be able to access are in Concord,” which may be further for patients to travel.
At the information session, a number of people said they are losing their current Medicare Advantage plans, and must choose from limited options, or have had to change plans for multiple years in a row.
Jim Culhane, president and CEO of Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, said they are bracing for the impact Medicare Advantage changes will have on seniors who receive their services, and on their own operations.
“If you change insurance on January 1, and you were having services with us on December 30, and you’re having services that continue well after the first of the year, our job is to make that largely seamless,” Culhane said. “But that seamlessness takes a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure a person doesn’t have a break in care at the start of the new year.”
Culhane said that work requires “a lot of hours and a lot of people behind the scenes that are completing certain documentation, changing documentation, creating new schedules and so on.”
Culhane said navigating Medicare — whether people are choosing Part D supplemental insurance or enrolling in Medicare Advantage — can be complicated because insurance companies might offer one benefit at the cost of another.
“The devil’s in the details, and consumers rarely have the opportunity to explore what those details are, and frequently buy products that may or may not be ideal for them,” Culhane said.
After January 1, Culhane said Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice may see patients who have new coverage that doesn’t cover their prior treatment plans, meaning providers may have to adapt those plans if patients can’t afford to pay out of pocket.
“Whereas one insurance may say, ‘yes, they can have eight physical therapy visits,’ another insurance will say, ‘no, we’re only going to approve four physical therapy visits,’ ” he said.
Culhane said coverage changes could reduce the availability of in-home support or other outpatient care, for example, which could reduce patient safety at home, and lead to rehospitalization.
“It’s a very expensive outcome when an individual goes back to the hospital and it’s certainly not what the patient would like,” Culhane said. “When we develop a plan of care and say an individual needs a certain number of nursing visits or physical therapy or occupational therapy visits in order to remain home, we do so under the philosophy of trying to prevent someone from needing to go back to the hospital.”
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A New Hampshire motorcyclist who had been missing since the Fourth of July was found dead in Shelburne late Thursday night.
State police say they received a request from the Berlin Police Department just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday for help locating 41-year-old Wesley Grondin — the Berlin man was last seen riding his motorcycle on Saturday, July 4, and had been reported missing.
Troopers received a call a couple of hours later, around 10:10 p.m. Thursday, from a concerned resident who had been out looking for Grondin along Route 2 in Shelburne. The person told police they had found Grondin dead, along with his Harley Davidson.
According to state police, a preliminary investigation determined that Grondin was riding his Harley on Route 2 westbound in Shelburne when, for reasons that remain under investigation, he crossed over into the opposing lane, struck a post, and came to a final rest in the wood line.
The crash is believed to have occurred just before midnight on July 4. At this time, police say there’s no indication that another vehicle or person was involved.
All aspects of the crash remain under investigation, however. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to contact Trooper Hunter Newsham at Hunter.P.Newsham@dos.nh.gov.
KEENE, N.H. — A Nashua woman who had a town clerk falsely certify a marriage that never happened so she could claim her late partner’s property has been sentenced to seven days in jail, placed on probation and ordered to repay thousands to his estate.
Attorney General John Formella said Wendy Leedberg‑Snow, 60, turned to Winchester Town Clerk Jim Tetreault after the death of her longtime partner, Eric Leedberg — who was born in Lowell — using the falsified license to pose as his spouse and lay claim to property from his estate, an effort prosecutors describe as an attempt to rewrite the couple’s history for financial gain.
“This case involved a deliberate effort to manipulate official government records and exploit the death of a loved one for personal financial gain,” Formella said in a press release announcing the sentencing. “Our vital records system depends on honesty and integrity, and those who seek to corrupt that system will be held accountable. I want to thank the investigators and prosecutors whose work ensured justice for the victim’s family.”
According to Leedberg’s obituary, he was 53 when he died on Oct. 12, 2023, following a two‑year battle with cancer.
In the obituary, Leedberg-Snow is described as his “significant other.”
Prosecutors said Leedberg‑Snow moved quickly after his death, relying on Tetreault’s signature to fabricate a marriage that never occurred and position herself as Leedberg’s surviving spouse.
Tetreault, who was a New Hampshire justice of the peace at the time, falsely signed the marriage license claiming he had officiated the couple’s wedding. He later admitted he never performed any ceremony for Leedberg‑Snow and Leedberg and had no personal knowledge of them ever being married.
Leedberg‑Snow used the fraudulent certificate to obtain property from Leedberg’s estate, including a pickup truck and trailer, and later attempted to influence a witness connected to the scheme.
Leedberg‑Snow pleaded guilty in Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene to felony counts of solicitation to commit vital records fraud, title fraud, theft by misapplication of property and witness tampering.
In addition to her seven‑day jail term, she must serve two years of probation, pay $4,600 in restitution, return the truck and trailer to Leedberg’s estate and comply with a suspended three‑and‑a‑half‑ to seven‑year prison sentence, which means the sentence only takes effect if she violates the conditions of her probation.
Tetreault, who continues to serve as Winchester’s town clerk and “fully cooperated with the State’s investigation,” according to prosecutors, pleaded guilty in April to notarial misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor. As part of a negotiated plea, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of vital records fraud. He was sentenced to 90 days in the house of corrections, all suspended for two years on good behavior, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus a $240 penalty assessment.
He resigned his commissions as a justice of the peace and bail commissioner and agreed not to seek recommissioning as a justice of the peace or notary public during the two‑year suspension period.
Tetreault could not be reached for comment at his office number.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
SARGENT’S PURCHASE – On Saturday, personnel from multiple rescue crews teamed up to help an injured woman get off of Mt. Washington to seek medical treatment.
At approximately 7:45 AM, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officers were notified that a staff member at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Lakes of the Clouds Hut had taken a serious fall at the hut and was left unable to walk.
Fish and Game subsequently mobilized search and rescue personnel to come and help evacuate the young woman from her remote location.
By 10:00 AM, members of the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team (AVSAR), Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue Team (Pemi), AMC and Fish and Game had gathered at the Base Station of the Cog Rail. The Cog Railway generously donated room on their trains, and rescuers and equipment were given rides up Mt. Washington to the West Side Trail, which allowed for a shorter and less strenuous 1.6 mile hike than other routes.
By 11:20 AM rescuers were at the hut with the patient. The patient was subsequently packaged in a litter and prepared for an overland carryout back to the Cog tracks.
Rescue personnel made steady progress, and by 2:15 PM had made it back across West Side Trail and to the train tracks. A Cog Railway train picked up the whole rescue party and brought everyone back down the mountain. Once roadside, the patient was evaluated by personnel from Twin Mountain Fire and Rescue.
She was ultimately driven from the scene by a friend and went to Memorial Hospital in North Conway for further evaluation
and treatment of multiple injuries related to her fall. The patient was identified as Cali Turner, 26, of Willimantic, Maine.
Fish and Game would like to thank all of the people and organizations involved in this rescue effort. Through the help of everyone, the rescue was a great success and got done in a timely manner.
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