The New Hampshire Needs Caregivers Act seeks to address the health care workforce shortage in the state by enhancing recruitment and retention efforts within the primary health care sector. The bill mandates the Department of Health and Human Services to amend its contract with the Bi-State Primary Care Association's Recruitment Center to create a Public-Private Health Care Workforce Recruitment and Retention Hub. This hub will facilitate collaboration among health care services and develop programs that support nursing preceptor and mentoring initiatives, as well as provide training, technical assistance, and loan repayment opportunities for health care professionals. Additionally, the bill includes a marketing campaign to attract qualified clinicians and supports the New Hampshire Needs Caregivers Program, which focuses on training and recruiting licensed nursing assistants.

To fund these initiatives, the bill appropriates over $3 million for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2026, and June 30, 2027, for various purposes, including the establishment of the recruitment hub and workforce recruitment advertising. It also allocates $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to increase rates paid to providers of opioid treatment programs, supporting both the traditional Medicaid population and the Granite Advantage Program population. The bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to accept and expend available federal funds for these purposes without prior approval from the fiscal committee of the general court. Overall, the legislation aims to ensure that New Hampshire's health care system is adequately staffed and capable of providing essential services to its residents.