New Hampshire Health Leaders Warn of Growing Risks to Rural Hospitals

​

Watch the full event here

Concord, NH – Health care leaders today warned of growing risks to rural hospitals and community-based providers across New Hampshire due to Medicaid cuts, pointing to rising costs, workforce shortages, and ongoing funding pressures that are straining access to care across the state.

During a virtual media event hosted by Protect Our Care New Hampshire, Edward D. Shanshala II, CEO of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services (ACHS), shared firsthand the challenges facing providers in rural communities.

Shanshala pointed to the closure of a health center in Franconia in November 2025—a decision driven by financial constraints and ongoing operational challenges—as a clear example of how fragile access to care has become in parts of the North Country.

“We’re all feeling the tension and pressure from changes to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and reduced funding—there are a lot of moving targets right now,” said Shanshala. “Families are making hard choices—whether to keep health insurance or put food on the table.”

Medicaid is an essential pillar of the country’s health care system that not only insures over 155K Granite Staters, but also keeps hospitals and health care clinics, particularly in rural areas, open and able to provide essential critical services. Without Medicaid funding hospitals, emergency departments and maternity wards risk closure, creating health care deserts that eliminate entire communities’ access to lifesaving care. Across the nation, more than 800 hospitals and care facilities are struggling due to cuts and budget changes.

According to Shanshala, “If I have to say that in an entire county there’s no place to deliver a baby in a hospital setting—that’s not something you want to be able to convey.”

Hospital and clinic closures impact every Granite Stater’s access to health care and overwhelm emergency rooms, cause more avoidable deaths, devastate local economies, and drive up costs for everyone. Speakers discussed the need to fully fund clinics like Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, and held elected leaders accountable for causing widespread harm by gutting Medicaid.

You can watch the full event here, and learn more about how hospitals are under attack due to Medicaid cuts here.