Local employers are feeling the strain of rising health care costs, and the ripple effects are touching every corner of New Hampshire’s economy. That was the central message of the 2025 Health Care Costs and the Local Economy forum, hosted by the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce (EACC) in partnership with the New Hampshire Health Cost Initiative (NHHCI) on November 7th at the Seacoast School of Technology.

The event brought together business leaders, policymakers, and health care experts to discuss the pressures driving health care costs and explore potential solutions. Panelists included D.J. Bettencourt, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Insurance Department; Deborah Fournier, Director of Health Law and Policy at the UNH Institute for Health Policy and Practice; Cass Walker, Chief Human Resources Officer at Greater Seacoast Community Health; and Ryan Poplaski, owner of Bodywise Physical Therapy & Wellness. The discussion was moderated by Lucy Hodder, Professor of Law, Health and Life Sciences at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, and NHHCI Board of Contributors member.

Read the blog post from NH Health Care Initiative:  Rising Health Care Costs Challenge NH's Businesses