New Hampshire Medicaid Office

New Hampshire Medicaid office (DHHS)

New Hampshire keeps its Medicaid administration in a single agency. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) determines both financial and non-financial eligibility (including disability determinations) for every Medicaid group — there is no separate workforce-services department handling intake the way many other states split it. The Division of Medicaid Services inside DHHS sits at 129 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301, and routes member traffic through the DHHS Customer Service Center plus the District Office network.

How to reach DHHS

• DHHS Customer Service Center — 1-844-ASK-DHHS (1-844-275-3447), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Eastern. TDD Relay Access: 1-800-735-2964.
• Apply or renew online — NH EASY, the state benefits portal for Medicaid, SNAP, cash, child care, and Long Term Services and Supports.
• District Office locator — DHHS publishes the field-office map at dhhs.nh.gov/about-dhhs/locations-facilities.
• Mailing address — Division of Medicaid Services, NH Department of Health and Human Services, 129 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301.

One agency, one application, multiple categories

Because DHHS handles eligibility for every category, a single NH EASY application can route to children's Medicaid, the Granite Advantage Health Care Program (the state's name for the adult expansion category covering ages 19 through 64), pregnancy coverage, the Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD) program, the Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB) program, the Medicaid for Employed Adults with Disabilities (MEAD) program, or the Home Care for Children with Severe Disabilities option (Katie Beckett) — DHHS decides which apply.

Who qualifies for New Hampshire Medicaid?

DHHS structures NH Medicaid eligibility around three criteria — income, resources (based on the eligibility group), and non-financial criteria such as New Hampshire residency — applied differently per category. The agency's eligibility page lists every group it determines eligibility for, which makes the menu unusually clear for a state Medicaid program.

Every eligibility group DHHS publishes

• Infants and children under age 19 — children's Medicaid track.
• Pregnant women — pregnancy coverage with extended postpartum services.
• Parents and caretaker relatives — low-income family track.
• Former foster care children — coverage continues past age 18 for youth who aged out of foster care.
• Granite Advantage Health Care Program — the adult expansion category for individuals age 19 through 64.
• Family planning expansion category — limited-coverage track for adults above the full Medicaid income threshold who still need family planning services.
• Individuals with blindness — Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB).
• Refugees and non-citizens — separate eligibility tracks with their own rules.
• Seniors — Medicaid for adults 65+ using non-MAGI rules.
• Individuals with disabilities — Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD), with MEAD/MOAD for working adults with disabilities.
• Individuals requiring long-term care services — separate financial and clinical tests for HCBC or nursing facility care.

In and Out Medical Assistance — NH's medically needy spenddown

For households whose income is too high to qualify for regular Medicaid but not enough to pay their medical bills, DHHS offers In and Out Medical Assistance — the state's name for the federal medically needy (spenddown) program. The applicant is assigned a Spenddown amount (DHHS compares it to a car-insurance deductible). When the household's qualifying medical expenses add up to the Spenddown amount, Medicaid then pays for additional bills incurred for the rest of the Spenddown period.

Disability determinations — done in-house

DHHS makes its own disability determinations for the disability-linked Medicaid categories: APTD, ANB, MEAD, MOAD, and Home Care for Children with Severe Disabilities (HC-CSD), commonly known as the Katie Beckett option. That's different from states that defer entirely to a Social Security Disability Determination Services contractor for the medical decision.

New Hampshire Medicaid income standards

DHHS doesn't publish a single combined Medicaid income chart on the dhhs.nh.gov website. Instead, the agency directs members to the Program Fact Sheet PDF (a DHHS publication that lists income and resource requirements for each program in plain language) and to each Medicaid category's separate sub-page for its specific income test. The percentages of the federal poverty level (FPL) below are stable from year to year; dollar figures change each January when the federal poverty guidelines update.

FPL standards by category

Where to get the dollar figures

Check the DHHS Program Fact Sheet PDF (linked from the NH Medicaid Eligibility page) for current income and resource thresholds, or call the DHHS Customer Service Center at 1-844-ASK-DHHS (1-844-275-3447) for category-specific budget questions.

How to apply for New Hampshire Medicaid

One NH EASY application screens for Medicaid, SNAP, cash, child care, Medicare Beneficiary programs, and Long Term Services and Supports — DHHS lists those six service tiles on the portal home page. The same login lets you check status, upload documents, and renew when the year is up.

NH EASY is the front door

• Apply Now — submit applications for Cash, Medical, SNAP, Child Care, Medicare Beneficiary, and Long Term Care Assistance from the NH EASY home page.
• Create Account — set up a portal login to view and manage existing benefits.
• Do I qualify? — NH EASY has a quick screening tool that estimates whether you might be eligible for DHHS services before you start a full application.
• Health Plans search — find which of the three Medicaid Care Management health plans your current provider is in-network with before you pick a plan.

Other ways to apply

• DHHS Customer Service Center — call 1-844-ASK-DHHS (1-844-275-3447), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern, to start an application or ask about a pending case. TDD Relay Access: 1-800-735-2964.
• District Office in person — find your local DHHS District Office at dhhs.nh.gov/about-dhhs/locations-facilities and apply face-to-face.

If someone else is helping you apply

DHHS publishes the Authorized Representative (AR) Declaration — Form 778. Filling it out lets a friend, family member, or other person help with some or all of the steps needed to apply for or manage benefits — including talking to DHHS on your behalf and receiving notices about your case.

What happens after you submit

DHHS reviews the application and may request verification by mail. The agency makes its own disability determinations for APTD, ANB, MEAD, MOAD, and Home Care for Children with Severe Disabilities (Katie Beckett). Federal Medicaid decision deadlines remain: up to 45 days for non-disability applications and up to 90 days for applications based on disability. Coverage can be retroactive up to three months before the application month when the applicant had qualifying medical bills during that window.

If you disagree with a decision

You can request an Administrative Appeals hearing at any time DHHS makes a decision you disagree with — the agency publishes the appeal Request Form at nheasy.nh.gov/forms/E/173.pdf.

What New Hampshire Medicaid covers

NH Medicaid Care Management (MCM) is the managed-care contract that delivers most New Hampshire Medicaid benefits — including Medicaid Adult Dental through the New Hampshire Smiles Program — through three competing health plans. DHHS keeps a small set of services on fee-for-service Medicaid: children's dental care, nursing home care, and home and community-based care (HCBC) services. That carve-out structure is unusual and worth understanding before picking a plan.

The three Medicaid Care Management health plans

The three plans cover the same New Hampshire Medicaid services but may have different provider networks, prior authorization rules, and value-added extras. The DHHS-published "Meet Your Health Plans" PDF and the NCQA Health Plan Ratings are the most direct comparison tools.

Auto-assignment, the 90-day change window, and "with cause"

If a new Medicaid member doesn't pick a plan when completing the application, DHHS auto-assigns one. The member can change plans for any reason during the first 90 days of initial Medicaid eligibility, during the annual open enrollment period, or "with cause" at other times (which usually requires first filing a grievance with the current Health Plan). After the Health Plan addresses the grievance, the DHHS Customer Service Center at 1-844-275-3447 determines whether the "with cause" reason is sufficient.

Who stays in fee-for-service Medicaid

DHHS keeps members in fee-for-service Medicaid when they fall into an "exempt" category:

• Members who receive benefits from the Veterans Administration.
• Members on "In and Out" (Spenddown) Medical Assistance.
• Members who only have Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) or Special Low Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) coverage with no other Medicaid.
• Members who only have Qualified Disability Working Individual (QDWI) coverage with no other Medicaid.

Federally required Medicaid benefits

• Physician, hospital, home health, lab, X-ray, and rural health clinic services
• Prescription drugs
• Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
• Adult medical day care and medical transportation
• Durable medical equipment and medical supplies
• Dental services through the New Hampshire Smiles Program (adults through MCM; children through fee-for-service Medicaid)
• Psychotherapy, podiatry, audiology, vision care, certified midwife services
• Private duty nursing, personal care attendant services
• Family planning and EPSDT for members under 21
• Newborn home visits and extended services for pregnant women
• Nursing facility, home and community-based care, hospice services (fee-for-service)
• Substance use disorder treatment
• Services for individuals with developmental disabilities and acquired brain disorders
• Services at community mental health centers

Don't throw away the state Medicaid ID card

Even after enrolling in an MCM Health Plan, members keep their New Hampshire Medicaid ID card. Both cards have to be shown to providers and pharmacists at every visit — some services (children's dental, nursing home, HCBC) stay billed under the state card rather than the MCO card.

Other state Medicaid pages