Last week, the New Hampshire Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard SB 246, better known as “Momnibus 2.0.” This bill, primarily sponsored by Sen. Denise Ricciardi, has bipartisan support with a total of eight Republican cosponsors and five Democratic cosponsors. This legislation builds on the Momnibus bill from 2024. The new Momnibus 2.0 bill would improve access to health care services for new mothers in New Hampshire by providing a broad range of services and supports, such as securing funding for rural maternal health EMS services, requiring insurance coverage for perinatal home visiting services and expanding employee protection to ensure that mothers can attend postpartum care medical visits.

As a psychiatrist and as the president of the New Hampshire Medical Society, I truly believe that this is one of the most important and impactful bills for our state. Untreated perinatal mental health disorders have been shown to contribute to higher-risk pregnancy as well as poor health outcomes for both the mother and child. The NHMS supports legislation that prioritizes access to mental health care for New Hampshire’s mothers. Removing barriers to care for new mothers is one of the most important ways that we can ensure a healthy future for our state. Please encourage your state senator to vote “yes” on SB 246 and to prioritize public health bills, like Momnibus 2.0, that help build healthy families.

Patrick Ho

Lebanon