State officials are asking for help promoting New Hampshire’s Paid Family Medical Leave program, saying not enough people are aware of it despite an ongoing marketing campaign.
The program, which launched a year ago, allows employers and individual workers to buy paid family and medical leave insurance. The benefit pays 60% of someone’s wages for up to six weeks while they deal with a health condition, care for a family member or spend time with a new child.
The voluntary program was Gov. Chris Sununu’s answer to Democrat-backed plans for universal paid leave funded by payroll taxes. Sununu touted his opt-in model as a way to expand that coverage for as many workers as possible, without imposing a payroll tax.
The state tapped insurance carrier MetLife to administer the program. It also has a $1.9 million contract with the firm Mason Inc. for marketing and outreach.
So far, however, participation has been limited. As of early December, 210 employers representing about 9,000 employers had signed on, plus another 644 individuals who bought coverage on their own. Counting the roughly 8,800 state employees who are also included in the plan, the total enrollment represented less than 3% of New Hampshire’s workforce. (The state did not provide updated figures before this story published.)
In a letter sent to 19 New Hampshire-based nonprofits and advocacy groups, officials from New Hampshire’s departments of insurance, employment security and administrative services said they are pleased with what they called “robust enrollment.”
“However, in recent months, despite best efforts to market PFML to employers and individuals, we have encountered situations where individuals and families could have benefited from this coverage but were either unaware of the program’s existence or unsure how to enroll,” they wrote.
The state officials asked the organizations to distribute information about the program and help people navigate the enrollment process. They also want them to help get the word out about the open enrollment period for individuals wishing to buy coverage for 2024, which runs through Jan. 29.
— PAUL CUNO-BOOTH/NH PUBLIC RADIO
