There is a distinct feeling that comes when you take the lead in a race.
If you have ever run or watched a long-distance runner break away from the pack, you know that exact moment. For miles, everyone jostles for position, huddled together. But then comes the turn where one runner decides that following isn’t enough. They lengthen their stride, pull away from the crowd, and force everyone else to give chase.
Right now, New Hampshire is that runner.
In WalletHub’s national analysis evaluating states across cost, access and outcomes, the Granite State took the top spot as the best state for health care in America. We didn’t just barely squeak by — we beat second-place Minnesota by nearly two full points.
When you look at the breakdown, it is easy to see why. New Hampshire captured the No. 1 rank in outcomes nationally. We backed that up with the No. 2 rank in cost, boasting the lowest average monthly health insurance premiums in the entire country, along with the second-lowest out-of-pocket medical spending.
While other states struggle under the weight of soaring care costs, emergency room delays and bloated bureaucracies, New Hampshire has proven that when you prioritize patients and unleash medical innovation, extraordinary results follow.
Being No. 1 isn’t the finish line. It’s the responsibility to keep leading. In New Hampshire, it’s a standard we defend every single day. We have accomplished a lot, but we can’t afford to become complacent. There is still more to do, more to improve and more opportunities to seize.
Nowhere is that spirit more evident than in our groundbreaking work to expand the John Lewicke and Michael Yakubovich Right to Try Act.
Named after two courageous former state representatives who faced severe, life-threatening illnesses with unmatched grace, this law represents the absolute frontier of patient-centered health care. For decades, terminally ill and rare-disease patients have been trapped in the cruel paradox of promising, customized therapies being blocked by a one-size-fits-all regulatory apparatus that moves at a glacial pace while patients run out of time.
With the expansion of the Right to Try Act, New Hampshire said enough. We expanded access to cutting-edge individualized treatments tailored to a patient’s unique genetic profile. We cut through career-destroying liability fears that kept willing doctors from administering revolutionary treatments. And we paved the way for experimental treatment centers right here in our state, transforming New Hampshire into a global beacon for biotechnology innovation and medical freedom.
This is not a theoretical win for me.
Living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, I understand firsthand what it means to navigate a health care system that too often tells complex patients to simply wait. You learn early on that when conventional options run thin, hope isn’t just a comfort — it is a lifeline. For the 140,000 Granite Staters living with rare or severe conditions, removing barriers between a patient and a potential life-saving therapy isn’t political debate. It is a matter of life and time.
By pairing world-leading outcomes and top-tier affordability with bold patient rights, New Hampshire is building an ecosystem that other states simply cannot match. While Minnesota, Massachusetts and the rest of the country try to catch up, the Granite State is showing the nation what modern, compassionate healthcare looks like.
We earned the No. 1 ranking in America because we refused to accept that health care had to be broken, expensive or bureaucratic. We will keep that No. 1 spot and continue expanding our lead because we believe that every patient, no matter how rare their condition, deserves the right to fight for their life.
The stride has been lengthened. The lead is ours, and New Hampshire is not turning back.
Rep. Steven Kesselring, R-Manchester, represents Hillsborough District 18.