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Senator Cindy Rosenwald, Champion for Affordable Health Care and Granite Staters' Well-Being, Announces Retirement After Over Two Decades of Public Service

"Cindy Rosenwald has made New Hampshire a healthier, more compassionate state. That is her legacy, and it will endure long after her time in the Senate."

NASHUA, NH — Senate Democratic Deputy Leader Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua) has announced that she will not seek re-election at the end of this legislative session, concluding a remarkable public service career spanning more than two decades. First elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2004, Senator Rosenwald went on to serve fourteen years in the House before winning her Senate seat in 2018, where she serves as Deputy Democratic Leader. Few legislators in New Hampshire history have left a deeper imprint on the health and well-being of the people they serve.

Rosenwald's career has been defined by one abiding commitment: ensuring that every Granite Stater, regardless of income, zip code, or circumstance, can access the care and support they need to live a good life. That commitment has produced a record of real, lasting change.

As a State Representative, Rosenwald was a key voice in the fight to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, championing relief for Granite Staters who had gone without health insurance and put off needed care. That effort, led by then-Governor Maggie Hassan, brought health care coverage to an estimated 50,000 low-income Granite Staters–one of the most consequential expansions of health care access in state history.

In the Senate, Rosenwald continued to deepen and defend that legacy. She was the prime sponsor of legislation to raise reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers for mental health and substance use disorder treatment—increasing access to these critical services and ensuring that New Hampshire providers could afford to deliver the care their patients needed. She led the initiative to increase Medical provider payments across the board in Medicaid for the first time ever, a long-overdue step that strengthened the health care safety net for the state's most vulnerable residents.

Senator Rosenwald is equally proud of her role in ending New Hampshire's developmental disability waitlist. She was serving in the House when the state ended the developmental disability waitlist in 2007, a milestone she has described as "a joyous and important moment" that was a long time coming. That achievement represented a moral turning point for New Hampshire, a recognition that people with developmental disabilities deserve to be active, supported members of their communities.

Throughout her tenure, Senator Rosenwald has been one of the legislature's most tireless advocates for mental health care. She fought consistently to raise rates for mental health services and substance abuse treatment, and to expand mental health resources across the state. She chaired the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission for for years after its inception in 2020, bringing the same resolve to New Hampshire's substance use crisis that has defined her entire career.

Senator Rosenwald has also worked for years to expand access to preventive care for Granite Staters. She co-sponsored the initial legislation to allow pharmacists to administer vaccines in 2008, saving Granite Staters both time and money.  She co-sponsored legislation allowing pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer the full range of vaccines listed in the CDC's recommended adult immunization schedule, removing barriers and making it easier for families across New Hampshire to stay healthy. In 2009 as well, she led the successful effort to make sure patients would not have to pay a co-pay for medications if the cash price is lower.

Also focused on growing New Hampshire’s economy, Senator Rosenwald led the successful effort to bring municipal cash reserve investments back to the state, allowing banks to offer more commercial and retail lending. 

Senator Rosenwald chaired the House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee and has served on the Senate Finance, Ways and Means, Energy and Natural Resources, Education Funding, and Fiscal Committees, building an unmatched depth of policy expertise over two decades. She has received numerous awards from human service advocacy organizations in recognition of her work.

"Cindy Rosenwald has made New Hampshire a healthier, more compassionate state. That is her legacy, and it will endure long after her time in the Senate," said Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D-Portsmouth). "She helped bring Medicaid expansion to 50,000 Granite Staters. She helped end the developmental disability waitlist. She raised the bar for mental health and substance use treatment. She made vaccines more accessible to families across the state. Every one of those wins represents real people whose lives are better because Cindy showed up and fought for them, year after year. It has been one of the great honors of my time in the Senate to serve alongside her."

"Serving the people of Nashua and New Hampshire has been the honor of my life," said Senator Cindy Rosenwald. "When I first came to the State House in 2005, I made a promise to myself that I would fight every day for the people who needed a voice in Concord most—those without access to care, those waiting for support, those falling through the cracks of a system that too often forgot them. I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish together over these years.”

"Expanding Medicaid alongside Governor Hassan; ending the developmental disability waitlist; raising provider rates for mental health and substance use treatment; expanding the vaccines Granite Staters can receive at their local pharmacy–each of these achievements represents real families, real neighbors, real lives changed for the better. That is what public service is supposed to be.”

"To the people of Nashua Ward 3 and New Hampshire Senate District 13, who trusted me with this extraordinary honor for eight years in the Senate and fourteen years in the House—thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. It has been the greatest privilege of my life. I leave with immense gratitude, and with full confidence that the work of building a healthier, fairer New Hampshire will continue."

Senator Rosenwald is currently serving her fifth term in the New Hampshire Senate, representing District 13, which includes six of Nashua's nine wards.

The New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus thanks Senator Rosenwald for her extraordinary career and wishes her well in every chapter to come.

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