Special appropriation makes infinite sense for residents of Belknap County

Because of a change in Medicaid funding, Belknap County received $2.7 million more than was expected. If the county delegation approves a special appropriation of $1.1 million to the state, that amount will be matched by Medicaid for use in Belknap County by the Integrated Delivery Network  established to provide coordinated mental health and substance abuse treatment impacting the current opioid epidemic. The Belknap County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend that this appropriation be made. The vote is scheduled for this coming Tuesday at 10:00 AM at the County Complex in Laconia. This letter explains the thought process which resulted in the recommendation of the county commissioners. 

We see in Belknap County that there are serious problems associated with Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health. In fact, we have one of the most serious opioid problems in the state.

In arriving at our recommendation, we asked ourselves three questions which we would urge you to ponder. 

1. Are Belknap County residents and their families suffering from Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health problems more than necessary because of unmet service needs?
2. Do the County Government and our Local Communities bear direct costs when individuals don't get the services they need?
3. Does it make sense to have local health and social service providers breakdown individual service silos and coordinate the care to better meet the unmet Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health needs of our County residents?

If you answer  “yes” to these questions, you'll understand how we came to our recommendation and why there was bipartisan support (9-6) to hold a meeting of the delegation to take up the special appropriation. That appropriation if approved this coming Tuesday will ultimately be matched and produce over $2 million to help the agencies in our county to meet residents' unmet needs.

The reason for the matching at the federal level is the belief in Washington that the investment will help lessen costs long-term in dealing with these issues. Seven other NH county delegations have agreed to make similar proportional investments thus far.

Whether you subscribe to the adage “you can pay me now or pay me later” or “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” the proposed appropriation makes infinite sense for the residents of Belknap County.

Dave DeVoy

Sanbornton