The NH Executive Council paused the approval of $773 million in federal spending contracts for the “GO NORTH” rural health program Wednesday, March 4, putting the brakes on a major initiative of Gov. Kelly Ayotte after councilors said the contracts were rushed and needed more scrutiny.
In unanimous votes, the council voted to table the items, allowing them to be approved later. Ayotte said she understood the request for delay and requested a special meeting on March 15 to further discuss the plan to spend the money.
The Governor’s Office of New Opportunities and Rural Transformational Health (GO-NORTH) is a program that intends to use federal grant funding to expand access to preventative health in less populated areas of the state. In December, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded New Hampshire $205 million in federal funding for the program for the 2026 federal fiscal year, which ends in September. The state is expected to receive similar tranches of funding each year through 2030.
The GO-NORTH office, run by Donnalee Lozeau, the former CEO of the Community Action Partnership for Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties, is seeking to spend the bulk of that money through five initiatives that are being used to build up health care facilities. Money to NH’s university and community college systems is designed to improve workforce development in rural areas, while the funding to the Community Behavioral Health Association is intended to “modernize” the state’s community mental health centers, according to the contracts. The funding to the Community Development Finance Authority would go toward infrastructure upgrades, renovations and development for health care facilities in rural areas, and the money to the Foundation for Healthy Communities would allow that organization to oversee more integrated systems for primary care, emergency care, home-based care and school-based health services.
Councilors raised concerns about approving large tranches of federal spending to pre-selected organizations without a deeper understanding of the program. And they said the council should have veto power over how the organizations spend the money, advocating for the recipients to come before the council for approval over any subcontracts.
The NH Executive Council paused the approval of $773 million in federal spending contracts for the “GO NORTH” rural health program Wednesday, March 4, putting the brakes on a major initiative of Gov. Kelly Ayotte after councilors said the contracts were rushed and needed more scrutiny.
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